EVOLVING PATENT DAMAGES

This chapter discusses unique decisions and their impact on the future of infringement damages. During an infringement trial, a patent damages expert is given the underlying assumption that the patents at issue are valid and infringed. One of the reasons for licensing patented technology is associated with time-savings. The royalty rate analysis used for determining past damages from infringement is all valid and useful for the determination of a royalty rate for application to future sales. The hypothetical negotiation date for determining the post-verdict royalty rate is the date of the trial verdict. In Magna Electronics v. TRW Automotive Holdings, Magna argued that TRW's infringement occurred before patent expiration but caused damages after patent expiration. In Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. United States Plywood Corp., the court identified several factors to consider in determining a reasonable royalty. These factors have been widely adopted by other courts for use in reasonable royalty determinations.