Expert’s Use of “Supercharged 50% Version of the 25% Rule of Thumb Rule” Did Not Render Royalty Rate Opinion Unreasonable

The court denied defendants' motion in limine to exclude plaintiff's damages expert's determination of a 10-15% royalty rate. "[Defendant] argues [plaintiff's expert] improperly arrived at a 10-15% royalty rate by dividing the profit margins of [plaintiff] and [defendant] in half and using the resulting figures as the upper and lower limits for the rate. [Defendant] contends this is a 'supercharged' 50% version of the '25% rule of thumb' rule rejected by the Federal Circuit. . . . Because [plaintiff's expert] used the [Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. U.S. Plywood Corp., 318 F. Supp. 1116 (S.D.N.Y. 1970)] factors to determine his reasonable royalty rate range of 10-15%, rather than a version of the unreliable 25% rule, the Court will not exclude [his] royalty rate analysis."

Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Bel Fuse Inc., et. al., 2-07-cv-00331 (NVD October 25, 2012, Order) (Pro, J.).