One of the more complicated issues in patent law is the issue of damages—the determination of how much money a patent owner receives when they prove infringement and validity. A patent owner, under 35 U.S.C. § 284, will be awarded “damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable…
Tag Archive for damages
Icon Patents Shouldn’t Entitle The Patent Owner To Profits On The Whole Device
by Josh Landau •
An important part of the Apple v. Samsung trial is about the exterior casing design patents. But those aren’t the only design patents at issue—the other design patent in the case covers a colorful grid of icons with particular characteristics like rounded corners and variable icons: As a reminder, a design patent covers a “new,…
Nikola v. Tesla Illustrates Danger Of Overreaching With Design Patents
by Josh Landau •
Last week, Nikola sued Tesla over advanced technology trucks. But it isn’t about the technology. It’s not AC vs. DC or Edison vs. Tesla. It isn’t even about electric vehicles (or hydrogen-electric trucks, Nikola’s chosen technology). It’s about the shapes of windshields and doors. It’s about design patents. And Nikola got it all wrong. A…
SCOTUS Will Decide Whether Foreign Infringement Can Create Lost Profits
by Josh Landau •
Last Friday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in WesternGeco v. ION Geophysical. Essentially, the case asks whether, when components for a patented process or machine are manufactured in the U.S. and combined or used abroad, the profits lost due to the foreign activities can be considered lost profits and awarded as damages under U.S. patent…
New Trial On Design Patent Damages, But A Flawed Test
by Josh Landau •
In the long-running Apple v. Samsung dispute, which has now gone from the trial court to the Federal Circuit to an en banc opinion to the Supreme Court and then back to the Federal Circuit and finally back to the trial court, Judge Koh has granted a new trial on the issue of damages for…