27 / December 2012

Jury awards Carnegie Mellon University $1.17B in damages

Posted in: Intellectual Property News Written by: Randy
Categories: case law analysis economic damages & lost profits intellectual property patents
Tags: calculating damages case law analysis damages infringement lawsuit IP valuation research IP value comparables & research litigation patent infringement patent litigation patent value

Carnegie Mellon sued Marvell Technology Group, Ltd., a Bermuda-based, Santa Clara-headquartered (see here for why) chip manufacturing company in 2009 in the federal court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging the company had infringed patents covering technology associated with "increasing the accuracy with which hard disk drive circuits read data from high-speed magnetic disks," according to a statement released from K&L Gates, the law firm for the university.

This week the jury assessed damages totaling $1.17 billion, upheld the validity of the patents, and found that Marvell knew or should have known that its actions would infringe the patents. The finding of willful infringement means Judge Nora Barry Fischer can award up to three times the jury award.

In its most recent 10Q filing, Marvell described their position in the litigation:

… the Company strongly dispute[s] their liability and the damages claimed by CMU, and further believe that they do not infringe any valid and enforceable claims of the asserted CMU patents in suit and intend to litigate this action vigorously (including any potential appeal, as necessary).

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