Fresh From the Bench: Latest Precedential Patent Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

EcoFactor, Inc. v. Google LLC, Appeal No. 2023-1101 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 25, 2024)

The Federal Circuit’s only precedential opinion this week was a rare order that granted en banc review of a prior panel decision. Here, the Court agreed to review the panel’s decision relevant to evidentiary issues related to the calculation of damages in patent lawsuits.

Specifically, the Court considered whether the district court had adhered to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) when it allowed testimony from EcoFactor, Inc.’s damages expert, who had assigned a per-unit royalty rate to the three licenses in evidence. We previously wrote about this case (see here), which addressed various issues of infringement and admissibility that had arisen during a jury trial in which the jury found that certain “smart thermostats” offered by Google LLC infringed a patent owned by EcoFactor.

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Editors:

Nika Aldrich, IP Litigation Group Leader, Schwabe

Jason A. Wrubleski, Shareholder

Contributors:

Mario E. Delegato, Associate