Deliberate Copying and Litigation Misconduct Warrant Treble Damages Award

Following a jury finding of willful infringement, the court granted plaintiff's motion for treble damages. "The Court finds that [the Read Corp. v. Portec, Inc., 970 F.2d 816, 826 (Fed. Cir. 1992)] factors favor the award of treble damages here. . . . As to the first Read factor [deliberate copying] . . . Defendants previously marketed Plaintiffs' patented device, and only began renting the infringing device after their business relationship with Plaintiff went sour. Moreover, Defendants' [accused products] came in the same sizes as Plaintiffs, and Defendants presented no design documents or other credible evidence suggesting that they attempted to design around the [patent-in-suit]. . . . Defendants' conduct during the course of this litigation further supports an award of treble damages. Prior to trial, Defendants were sanctioned multiple times by the magistrate for, inter alia, 'baseless' objections to discovery requests, 'deliberate effort[s]' to 'conceal' the infringing devices, failure to search for and produce relevant documents, false and misleading testimony . . . efforts to obstruct the depositions of third-party witnesses, and improper witness coaching."

Briese Lichttechnik Verttriebs GmbH v. Langton, et al, 1-09-cv-09790 (NYSD December 18, 2013, Order) (Conti, J.)