Another crack appears in the Android IP dam
By Florian Mueller’s count, there are 49 ongoing Android-related infringement lawsuits. The first crack in the dam was found in Google’s Daubert motion to exclude the Oracle expert’s damages report, where Google’s own words could indicate intentional infringement. Now an ALJ from the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that HTC infringed two Apple patents [...]
Jay Walker Refuses to Yield
Walker Digital owns about 200 issued U.S. patents , and they endeavor to license their properties to companies engaged in e-commerce solutions. Jay Walker, founder of priceline.com, is the chief inventor, and it’s now clear he has decided to invest a substantial portion of WD’s reported $200M in licensing revenues in patent protection lawsuits, having [...]
Buying Another’s Trademark in Google’s AdWords Deemed Infringement
One day in a previous business life I did a Google search on the name of our company, and the first listing (albeit paid) pointed to my chief competitor. That competitor purchased our company name as a “keyword” in Google’s AdWords program, so that their ad might be displayed on the search results. At the [...]
Expert Highlights Nearly 50 Instances of Google’s Android Copying Code Owned by Oracle
Though some say it’s not as serious as it may appear, Florian Mueller states flatly Google copied code without permission in the last two versions of its mobile operating system, giving a needed tilt in the litigation towards the plaintiff, in a case that potentially could cost Google tens of millions in royalties. Bookmark on [...]
Another Federal Judge Questions “Total Market” Damages Calculation
In addition the dismissive thumbs down the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals applied to the 25% Rule of Thumb rule used to calculate damages (see yesterday’s blog on Uniloc v. Microsoft), the “total market” view of damages was tossed. Yesterday, in a ruling filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Texas, another judge disqualified [...]
Appeals Court Turns 25% Rule on Its Head
Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Microsoft allowed for a new trial on damages, “because the jury’s damages award was fundamentally tainted by the use of a legally inadequate methodology,” namely, the 25 percent “rule of thumb” for calculating a reasonable royalty rate for infringement damages. [...]
Is that a real bag…or a Sears bag? Analysis of product rip-off damages wins in court
Brighton Collectibles, Inc. v. Coldwater Creek, Inc., 2010 WL 3718859 (S.D. Cal.)(Sept. 20, 2010) The plaintiff and defendant are direct competitors in the women’s handbags and accessories market. The defendant, in particular, used to carry the plaintiff’s designs in its catalogs. In 2008, the plaintiff sued the defendant for selling three “knock-off” products. The defendant [...]
Dueling Damages Experts Rely on Hypothetical License Fees
In Oracle Corp. v. SAP AG, 07-01658, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Oracle’s damages expert (Paul Meyer) calculates SAP’s (admitted) copyright infringement cost the company $1.7 Billion, with a “B”, in foregone license fees. Not surprisingly, SAP’s expert (Stephen Clarke) has come up with a lost profits estimate of $28 Million, with an [...]
Case law review featured at IP Valuation Summit
When the Supreme Court decision in Bilski v. Kappos “kicked open the door” to patents of new techniques and processes it also paved the way for new challenges to appraisers valuing intellectual properties. Added to obstacles in assessing value, recent case law has also heralded changes for appraisers in indentifying assets, identifying ownership, and avoiding [...]
Federal courts signaling stricter standard for expert IP evidence
Patent plaintiffs once considered the U.S. District court in the Eastern District of Texas one of the more favorable forums for winning damages—see, e.g., the recent $200 million jury award in i4i Ltd. Partnership v. Microsoft Corp, 2009 WL 2449024 (2009)(as reported in BVWire #85-1). But perhaps no longer: A new case may signal a [...]
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