Invalidity Opinion Delivered After Product Launch No Defense to Willful Infringement​

Following a jury trial, the court granted plaintiff's motion for entry of judgment and found that defendant's patent infringement was willful because defendant's invalidity defenses were not relied upon at the time the accused products were introduced. "[T]he Court in [Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Elecs., Inc., 136 S. Ct. 1923 (2016)] has eliminated the ability of an accused infringer to posit reasonable invalidity defenses which were not relied upon at the time the accused products were introduced into the market. . . . '[C]ulpability is generally measured against the knowledge of the actor at the time of the challenged conduct.' There is no indication in the record that [defendant's expert] provided [defendant] his opinion on invalidity before the accused products went into production. . . . [T]here is no record evidence that [defendant] had knowledge of the invalidity defense derived from the combination of prior art and SAE standards at the time of the challenged conduct."

Omega Patents, LLC v. Calamp Corp., 6-13-cv-01950 (FLMD April 5, 2017, Order) (Byron, USDJ)