Patent Law Practice Center

Federal Circuit hands pop stars defeat on attorneys’ fees

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently issued a non-precedential decision in a patent infringement action involving Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears and their production companies. The Federal Circuit’s decision vacated an earlier award of attorneys’ fees to Timberlake, Spears and the other defendants based on a finding that the case was exceptional within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 285. 

The original action in this patent infringement litigation was filed by Large Audience Display Systems (LADS), who alleged that Timberlake, Spears and their production companies infringed upon U.S. Patent No. 6,669,346, titled Large-Audience, Positionable Imaging and Display System for Exhibiting Panoramic Imagery, and Multimedia Content Featuring a Circularity of Action. This patent protects a panoramic imaging and display system in which an array of speakers is positioned around a perimeter of the system’s screen to provide audible sound which pans in such a way that can be synchronized with the movement of objects on the screen. (more…)

Breaking the Cycle – Stand Up and Fight Patent Trolls

The term “patent troll” conjures up all kinds of images and ideas, but there is no universally accepted definition of who is a patent troll. This has led many to recognize that, by and large, if you are being sued for patent infringement, it will likely be your belief that you are being sued by a patent troll. But obviously not everyone who sues for patent infringement is a patent troll, and neither is every plaintiff who loses a patent infringement lawsuit. There will be reasonable assertions that ultimately result in a defendant prevailing for a variety of reasons. Thus, a patent troll really should be identified by litigation tactics. A patent troll is one who is abusing the judicial process and leveraging judicial inefficiencies to obtain unwarranted settlement payments.

In determining whether one is a patent troll, I don’t think it should matter how the patents were acquired. If there is infringement of substantial patents, then there should be recourse. Having said that, it would be naive to pretend that there is not real evil lurking in the patent infringement realm. Stories of $500 to $1,000 offers to settle and avoid patent infringement litigation that would cost millions of dollars to defend abound. Some courts have openly acknowledged what feels like “extortion-like” activity. See Indicia of Extortion and Troll Turning Point? 

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Attorneys’ Fees Under Section 285: A Double Standard in Patent Litigation

By Brandon Baum ( Partner at Mayer Brown LLP and Practice Center Contributor) and Jonathan Helfgott[i]

Under 35 U.S.C. § 285 (“§ 285”), “[t]he court in exceptional cases may award attorney fees to the prevailing party.”  Although the statutory language does not differentiate between prevailing plaintiffs and defendants, the Federal Circuit has developed substantially different standards for determining whether a case is “exceptional” depending on which party prevails.

In the context of a prevailing plaintiff, a court may find a case “exceptional” by showing that the defendant engaged in “willful infringement.” Minks v. Polaris Indus., 546 F.3d 1364, 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (upholding exceptional case determination and award of attorneys’ fees based on jury finding of willful infringement).  “An express finding of willful infringement is a sufficient basis for classifying a case as ‘exceptional,’ and indeed, when a trial court denies attorney fees in spite of a finding of willful infringement, the court must explain why the case is not ‘exceptional’ within the meaning of the statute.”  Modine Mfg. Co. v. Allen Group, Inc., 917 F.2d 538, 543 (Fed. Cir. 1990); Tate Access Floors, Inc. v. Maxcess Techs., Inc., 222 F.3d 958, 972 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (same).  To demonstrate willful infringement, the patentee must show “that the infringer acted despite an objectively high likelihood that its actions constituted infringement of a valid patent.” In re Seagate Technology, LLC, 497 F.3d 1360, 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2007).   As the Federal Circuit made clear in Seagate, this is an objective test under which an infringer may be found to have acted willfully when it knew or should have known of the risk. Id. (more…)