{"id":1695,"date":"2017-08-10T10:57:44","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T14:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patents.harnessip.com\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2017-08-12T12:42:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-12T16:42:08","slug":"the-sport-of-kings-federal-circuit-affirms-3-9-million-fee-award-for-two-week-trial-on-patent-ownership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patents.harnessip.com\/?p=1695","title":{"rendered":"The Sport of Kings: Federal Circuit Affirms $3.9 Million Fee Award for Two Week Trial on Patent Ownership"},"content":{"rendered":"

In AIA America, Inc. v. Avid Radiopharamaceuticals<\/a>, [2016-2647] (August 10, 2017), the Federal Circuit\u00a0affirmed the award of attorneys fees because (1) the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial does not apply to
\nrequests for attorney\u2019s fees under \u00a7 285 of the Patent Act, (2)\u00a0the district court did not err by making factual findings\u00a0not foreclosed by the jury\u2019s verdict on standing, and (3) AIA\u2019s\u00a0due process rights were not violated.<\/p>\n

The Federal Circuit recounted an elaborate scheme perpetrated by plaintiff AIA and the purported sole inventor Mullan to appropriate\u00a0for themselves inventions from Imperial College (Imperial)\u00a0in London and the University of South Florida (USF). \u00a0The jury\u00a0determined\u00a0that USF did not knowingly and intentionally\u00a0waive its ownership rights to the invention and that\u00a0Hardy was a co-inventor. Based on the jury\u2019s\u00a0verdict, the district court found AIA lacked standing to\u00a0assert the U.S. Patent Nos.\u00a05,455,169 and 7,538,258, and entered judgment in\u00a0favor of Avid. \u00a0Avid then sought attorneys fees for the case (in which\u00a0in which twelve witnesses\u00a0testified and over 200 exhibits were introduced) of $6,508,687.00, and was awarded of\u00a0$3,943,317.70.<\/p>\n

The most interesting aspect of the case is the Special Master’s Report<\/a> which trimmed the attorneys fees ask from $6.5 to $3.9 million. \u00a0Highlights of which include:<\/p>\n