Willful Infringement Justifies 2X Damages Enhancement

Following a jury verdict of willful infringement, the court granted in part defendant's motion for enhanced damages and doubled the jury's award. "[Defendant's] conduct is egregious because it had direct notice from [plaintiff] and [plaintiff's] outside counsel of the [patent-in-suit] from the second month of the intense lengthy installation project with [defendant's customer]. [Defendant] estimated the entire installation at [its customer's facility] took 18-24 months and [defendant] and [its customer] were on notice of possible infringement for almost the entire duration of the project. . . . We do not find [defendant's] conduct so egregious to warrant treble damages under § 284 because two Read factors, closeness of the case and behavior as a party to litigation, weigh in [defendant's] favor."

Dominion Resources, Inc. et al v. Alstom Grid, Inc., 2-15-cv-00224 (PAED October 3, 2016, Order) (Kearney, USDJ)