Category: Intellectual Property

Another plaintiff patent damage expert gets excluded

In AVM Technologies vs. Intel Corporation, USDC for Delaware, case No. 10-610-RGA (February 21, 2013), Plaintiff’s damage expert witness was excluded entirely, thus gutting a case that the trial court acknowledged was otherwise worth $300 million or more. Recent patent cases emphasize the use of comparable licensees in determining a reasonable royalty, but have also …

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Louboutin owns red on the bottom (unless its on top)

The ongoing battle known as Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent (“YSL”) has been decided, with the Second Circuit rejecting what had previously been thought of as a bright line rule that a single color cannot be a fashion trademark and recognizing the trademarked red sole associated with Louboutin. The decision is nuanced however, as the Court ultimately …

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Huge Patent Infringement Damage sets the stage for further Federal Circuit Guidance on Reasonable Royalties

In Carnegie Mellon University vs. Marvell Technology Group (Western District of Pennsylvania, Case no. 09-290), the jury awarded $1.17 billion in reasonable royalty damages. This is one of the largest patent infringement damage awards ever. Marvel indicated it will appeal. Recently, large damage awards have not fared well on appeal, thus generating a number of …

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Maintaining Wealth Eludes Most Professional Athletes

Sports Illustrated provides a surprising statistic: “By the time they have been retired for two years, 78 percent of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress; within five years of retirement, an estimated 60 percent of former NBA players are broke.” There are many contributing factors that quickly spring to mind …

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Federal Circuit Corrects Recurring Errors with the Entire Market Value Rule

In LaserDynamics v. Quanta Computer, Case No. 11-1440 (Aug. 30, 2012) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned an $8.5 million lump sum jury award and remanded the case for a new damages trial. The Federal Circuit addressed three issues of interest to the calculation of reasonable royalties. See this longer article …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/09/federal-circuit-corrects-recurring-errors-with-the-entire-market-value-rule/

Virtual Worlds are the Subject of Copyright Infringement Allegations

Electronic Arts (“EA”) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District court for the Northern District of California alleging that Zynga’s “The Ville” infringes on EA’s “The Sims Social”.  EA’s position is that the two Facebook based social games are “largely indistinguishable to an uninitiated observer.” The stakes in this intellectual property battle are high, as …

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Federal Circuit Approves Evidence of Both Settlements And Related Negotiations In Reasonable Royalty Damages

Patent law (35 U.S.C. § 284) allows for lost profits in patent infringement cases, but requires damages of at least a reasonable royalty even if lost profits cannot be substantiated. The determination of a reasonable royalty is most often done through a hypothetical negotiation which attempts to ascertain the royalty upon which the parties would …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/federal-circuit-approves-evidence-of-both-settlements-and-related-negotiations-in-reasonable-royalty-damages/

Expert testimony may become common in USPTO appeals

In an April 18, 2012 Opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court in Kappos vs. Hyatt (10-1219) opened the door for expert testimony in federal district court actions in which a patent applicant challenges the USPTO’s denial of an application. The Opinion framed the issue being reviewed as follows: The Patent Act of 1952 establishes the process …

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Filmmaker wins key victory in deducting losses

In T.C. Memo 2012-115 (April 19, 2012), a taxpayer won a notable tax case involving the hobby loss rules. The Tax Court framed the issue as follows:  We must decide whether petitioner’s documentary film production activity was a trade or business or a labor of love. Respondent asserts that Smile ‘Til It Hurts was the …

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AOL Surprise Sale Shows the Value of Mapping Technology

AOL recently announced the sale of over 800 patents and patent applications to Microsoft, and a non-exclusive license covering the rest of its retained patent portfolio. The sale price is $1.056 billion in cash. The sale includes the stock of an AOL subsidiary, which allows AOL to offset the patent sales against a loss involving …

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