“Patent Troll” Accusation Does Not Justify Award of Attorneys’ Fees

Following summary judgment of invalidity, the court denied defendant's motion for $4.9 million in attorneys' fees and rejected defendant's argument that the award was justified because plaintiff was a "patent troll." "[Defendant], suggesting that [plaintiff] is a patent troll is poorly taken, and seriously damages its credibility. . . . As [plaintiff] says in its response,'[t]his recitation is only provided for the purposes of evoking an emotional response,' and to prejudice the Court against [plaintiff]. . . . [Plaintiff] is the assignee of the inventor of the [patent-in-suit]. In three of the four infringement cases brought by [plaintiff] in this district, after long and contentious proceedings, three of the defendants took a license. There is nothing in [plaintiff's] conduct in any of the four cases that was unduly aggressive or opportunistic. [Plaintiff] made out a credible case for infringement which was never adjudicated, and put up a credible case in defending validity."

Chrimar Systems, Inc. v. Foundry Networks, Inc., 2-06-cv-13936 (MIED October 3, 2013, Order) (Cohn, J.)