Damage Awards in the United States

Limitations on Patent Damage Awards

• Time limit on damages: the six-year rule (including the Consequences of limiting the damage period and the Burden of proof
• Time limitations on damages—Quick summary
• Patent marking and notice to infringers (see below)
• Patent marking & notice to infringers
• False marking
• Limitation on performance of medical activities (including Definitions and the Legislative history)
• Laches and estoppel: defenses that limit remedies (see below)
• Limitations on damages based on precluded or intervening rights, lack of standing, and multiple recoveries (see below)
• Precluded claims and intervening rights
• Standings as to unassigned claims
• Limitation on multiple recoveries

Limitations on Patent damages awards based on precluded or intervening rights, lack of standing, and multiple
recoveries

Limitations on asserting reissued or reexamined claims

This covers:

• Preclusion of enforcement of nonidentical claims
• Intervening rights
• Absolute intervening rights
• Equitable intervening rights

Lack of standing as a limitation on damage claims

Limitation on multiple recoveries

This covers:

• Preclusion of “double recovery”
• Basis for “joint” infringers
• Full satisfaction as a limitation
• Contributory infringer to prejudgment infringement
• Continuing postjudgment infringement
• Claim preclusion as a limitation

The Issue preclusion

The Kessler Doctrine

Limitations on Damage Awards: Patent marking and notice to infringers

• Section 287(a) marking requirement
• Duty to mark
• How to mark: sucient statutory notice (see below)
• Failure to mark: requirement for actual notice
• Section 287(b): process patents

How to mark: sucient statutory notice

This issue covers:

• Who must mark
• Contents of the notice
• Multiple patents in the notice
• Location of the notice
• Visibility of the notice
• Timing of application of the notice

Limitations on Patent Damage Awards: Laches and estoppel: defenses that limit remedies

• Aukerman decision
• Laches: presumption of laches (including Burden of proof and standard of review)
• Laches: commencement of delay (see below)
• Laches: unreasonable delay (includes Other litigation, Negotiations and Extent of the infringement)
• Laches: material prejudice (includes Defense prejudice and Economic prejudice)
• Laches: equity
• Estoppel (see below)
• Prosecution laches

Laches: commencement of delay, covers:

• Patent owner’s due diligence
• Relation back of delay
• Tacking of defense
• Change in nature of the infringing activity

Estoppel

It covers, in relation with Limitations on Patent Damage Awards:

• Burden of proof and standard of review
• Misleading conduct
• Reliance by the accused infringer
• Material prejudice
• Equity
• Successors in Interest

Damage Awards: Summary

In this entry, Damage Awards covers:

• Civil Damages
• The Controversial Damage Award System
• Punitive Damages
• Punitive Damages

Damage Awards: Main Elements

The coverage of Damage Awards includes the following main elements:

Civil Damages

Find out an overview of this topic, in relation to Damage Awards, in the legal Ecyclopedia.

The Controversial Damage Award System

There is information on this basic subject in the legal Ecyclopedia.

Punitive Damages

Find out an overview of this issue following this link (topic).

Punitive Damages

There is information on this basic subject matter in this legal reference.

References

See Also

• Jury System
• Damage Awards