CRA consulted to a food products company that had been found to infringe a patent covering a specialty food additive. In evaluating the patent owner’s claims of lost profits from lost sales, price erosion, and accelerated market entry, CRA conducted an in-depth analysis of the overall product market. In agreement with our analyses and conclusions, the court denied all forms of lost profits damages and instead awarded a reasonable royalty as compensation for the infringement. Further, the reasonable royalty assessed by the court was consistent with our analysis of the business and economic factors impacting the hypothetical negotiation, including our client’s cost of implementing an acceptable noninfringing alternative.
The comparability challenges patent damages experts face
In August, in MLC Intellectual Property LLC v. Micron Technology Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling to...