Halo: A Fresh Approach to Enhanced Damages

by Michael K. Mutter and Shawn A. Hamidinia, Ph.D. | World Intellectual Property Review

A US Supreme Court ruling has changed the landscape for determining damages in cases of wilful patent infringement, as explained in the first edition of a two-part article series.

Enhanced damages for wilful patent infringement have historical roots that span 180 years (the US Patent Act of 1836). In the Patent Act of 1952, Congress enacted §284, which states that courts “may increase the damages up to three times the amount found or assessed”. The plain meaning of §284 provides discretion to district courts to assess up to triple damages. This section also provides that judges “may receive expert testimony as an aid to the determination of damages or of what royalty would be reasonable under the circumstances”.

Read the rest of the article here.

Part II – Exposure to Enhanced Damages After Halo

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