Expert's Analysis that Patented Features are Desirable, Important, and Essential Does Not Satisfy Entire Market Value Rule

The court granted defendant's motion to exclude the testimony of plaintiff's damages expert regarding a reasonable royalty for failing to apportion damages to the accused features. "The arguments made by [plaintiff], that the patented features are desirable and important or even essential, are not sufficient to prove that those features alone drive the market for the HEOS products. The flaw in [the expert's] reasoning is underscored by the fact . . . that at least half of all HEOS owners own only one HEOS product. That is to say, at least half of all HEOS owners cannot use the synchronization, group volume control, or pairing features described in [plaintiff's] patents, at least not without purchasing another HEOS unit. Therefore, it can be assumed that those features are not the driving factor in those customers’ purchasing decisions. . . . Because [the expert] neither considered the value of the allegedly infringing features in relation to the product as a whole, nor showed that those features alone drive consumer demand, his opinion as to the amount of a reasonable royalty for the HEOS products is methodologically unsound."

Sonos, Inc. v. D&M Holdings Inc. d/b/a The D+M Group et al, 1-14-cv-01330 (DED November 1, 2017, Order) (Bryson, CJ)