"Obscure" Royalty Rate Does Not Render Jury Award Excessive

Following a jury trial, the court denied defendant's motion for new trial and rejected defendant's argument that the jury's damages award was excessive. "Because the Court granted judgment of matter of law against [plaintiff] on the issue of lost profits, [plaintiff] was only entitled to a reasonable royalty. . . . [Defendant] argues that the jury’s damages award 'does not appear to be based on a reasonable royalty since it amounts' to obscure percentages. . . . [Defendant] cites no authority requiring the jury to award a reasonable royalty based on a round number. But even then . . . the Court can arrive at the $2,624,288 damages amount with simple math. . . . A reasonable jury may have resolved this discrepancy [between the parties' experts] by averaging the two sales figures, which results in a sales figure of $16,930,546. The jury’s damages award of $2,624,288 is 15.5% of $16,930,546. Although not required by law, the Court finds that 15.5% is a clean royalty rate that a jury could be reasonably expected to award [plaintiff] for [defendant's] infringement."

Schwendimann v. Arkwright Advanced Coating, Inc., 0-11-cv-00820 (MND July 30, 2018, Order) (Tunheim, USDJ)