Foreign Parties and Manufacturers not Entitled to “Preliminary Assessment” of Willfulness Evidence to Avoid “Inherent Prejudice”

The court denied defendant's motion in limine to exclude evidence of pre-filing willfulness and rejected defendant's argument that the jury would be "likely to infer willfulness on the basis of ethnic stereotypes, noting that [defendant's] principals are Persian and their manufacturer is Taiwanese." "Essentially, [defendant] argues that unless a litigant has clear evidence of willfulness, a claim of willfulness may not be pursued against a foreign company or a company utilizing a foreign manufacturer as there is an inherent and unavoidable risk that a verdict will be entered against the foreign party on the basis of sheer prejudice alone. [Defendant] presents absolutely no legal support for this argument that claims for willful infringement against foreign companies should be subject to a preliminary assessment to determine the likelihood of success on the merits."

Sargent Mfg. Co. v. Cal-Royal Products Inc., 3-08-cv-00408 (CTD July 27, 2012, Order) (Bryant, J.).