In granting defendant's motion for attorneys' fees, the court found that defense counsel's hourly rates of $175 to $764.75 were reasonable. "[Defendant's] use of primary counsel . . . even at rates which well exceeded that of local counsel or [the average hourly rate of $245 for intellectual property practitioners in the Southeastern region according to the AIPLA bi-yearly Economic Survey from 2007] was justified. The attorneys were clearly specialists in the field of intellectual property – which is, by its very nature, national and not necessarily regional in scope – and, specifically, infringement suits, the art of litigating such a suit, and the background issues of patent prosecution. Further, [defense counsel] were clearly intimately aware of the [accused] product . . . as well as the history of these two parties. . . . Simply stated, it makes sense to proceed with such counsel, even at a higher rate than one might pay for local counsel, in a suit such as this."
iLOR, LLC v. Google, Inc., 5-07-cv-00109
(KYED October 15, 2009, Memorandum Opinion & Order) (Hood, S.J.)
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