Thursday, September 11, 2014

Expert’s Calculation of Lost Profits as Part of Reasonable Royalty Analysis Does Not Result in Double Recovery

Following a jury verdict of $105 million, the court denied defendant's motion for remittitur. "[Defendant] argues that [plaintiff's expert's] royalty calculation resulted in an impermissible double recovery, by allowing the jury to award lost profits and a royalty for the same infringing conduct. . . . [T]he Court disagrees. Although at certain points in [his] testimony it might appear that he merely calculated actual lost profits and then added a royalty to that figure, at other points he clarifies that his calculations represent the parties’ predictions of events in the marketplace that were reasonably foreseeable at the time of the hypothetical negotiation. While [plaintiff's expert] did, as noted, look at actual sales figures from subsequent years, he explained that his opinion as to a reasonable royalty was based on losses the parties reasonably would have anticipated in light of information available to them at the time of the negotiation, as confirmed by subsequent events."

Power Integrations, Inc. v. Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc., et al, 3-09-cv-05235 (CAND September 9, 2014, Order) (Chesney, J.)

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