#patent-damages

#patent-damages

excluded Rex's damages expert Douglas Kidder from testifying about the key comparable license in the case-a $10 million settlement agreement between Rex and Covidien that covered not only the '650 patent at issue, but also a related patent that had been the subject of a lawsuit (the '892 patent), eight other U.S. patents, seven U.S. patent applications, and nineteen foreign patents or applications. The district court found that Kidder had failed to adequately apportion the license payment among all these patents, rendering his methodology unreliable.

If you look closely enough, you'll find patent numbers on most of the physical products around you. Much like their copyright and trademark cousins, these designations are far from cosmetic. Instead, they serve a statutory requirement to provide public notice about your protected intellectual property. In the case of patent marking, not only does it reduce the risk of infringement because you are informing potential infringers of the patent's existence.