Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
632 F.3d 1292 (2011)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
Uniloc USA, Inc. (Uniloc) (plaintiff) obtained a patent for a software-registration system that helped to prevent unlicensed copying of software. Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft) (defendant) created a program that similarly deterred software piracy. Uniloc brought a patent infringement suit against Microsoft in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The district court granted Microsoft summary judgment, but after appeal, the case was remanded, and a jury found that Microsoft infringed Uniloc’s patent and awarded Uniloc damages of $388 million. The jury based its award on the testimony of Uniloc’s expert witness, Dr. Gemini. Gemini utilized the 25 percent rule to calculate his estimated damages and the entire market value rule to verify his estimate. Microsoft motioned for, among other things, a new trial on damages based on Gemini’s use of the 25 percent rule and the entire market value rule. The district court granted Microsoft’s motion with respect to the entire market value rule, but denied Microsoft’s motion with respect to the 25 percent rule. Uniloc appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Linn, J.)
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