Opinion ID: 2671312
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: motorola’s request for injunctive relief

Text: RELATING TO THE ’898 PATENT I concur in the majority’s judgment that Motorola is not entitled to an injunction for infringement of the ’898 patent. Majority Op. 71-73. However, I write separately to note my disagreement with the majority’s suggestion that an alleged infringer’s refusal to negotiate a license justifies the issuance of an injunction after a finding of infringement. As an initial matter, I agree with the majority that there is no need to create a categorical rule that a patentee can never obtain an injunction on a FRAND-committed patent. 5 Id. at 71-72. Rather, FRAND commitment should simply be factored into the consideration of the eBay framework. Moreover, I agree that a straightforward application of the eBay factors does not necessarily mean that injunctive relief would never be available for a FRAND-committed patent. However, I disagree as to the circumstances under which an injunction might be appropriate. Motorola argues—and the majority agrees—that an injunction might be appropriate where an alleged infringer “unilaterally refuses a FRAND royalty or unreasonably 5 For what it’s worth, I would note that the district court did not apply a per se rule that injunctions are unavailable for SEPs. Rather, Judge Posner expressly noted that injunctive relief might have been appropriate if Apple had “refuse[d] to pay a royalty that meets the FRAND requirement.” J.A. 140. Thus, the majority need not have suggested that the district court erred insofar as it applied such a categorical rule. See Majority Op. 71. APPLE INC. v. MOTOROLA, INC. 17 delays negotiations to the same effect.” Id. Motorola insists that in the absence of the threat of an injunction, an infringer would have no incentive to negotiate a license because the worst-case scenario from a patent infringement lawsuit is that it would have to pay the same amount it would have paid earlier for a license. I disagree that an alleged infringer’s refusal to enter into a licensing agreement justifies entering an injunction against its conduct, for several reasons. First, as Apple points out, an alleged infringer is fully entitled to challenge the validity of a FRAND-committed patent before agreeing to pay a license on that patent, and so should not necessarily be punished for less than eager negotiations. Second, there are many reasons an alleged infringer might prefer to pay a FRAND license rather than undergoing extensive litigation, including litigation expenses, the possibility of paying treble damages or attorney’s fees if they are found liable for willful infringement, and the risk that the fact-finder may award damages in an amount higher than the FRAND rates. Indeed, as Motorola itself pointed out, we have previously acknowledged that a trial court may award an amount of damages greater than a reasonable royalty if necessary “to compensate for the infringement.” Stickle v. Heublein, Inc., 716 F.2d 1550, 1563 (Fed. Cir. 1983). Thus, if a trial court believes that an infringer previously engaged in bad faith negotiations, it is entitled to increase the damages to account for any harm to the patentee as a result of that behavior. But regardless, none of these considerations alters the fact that monetary damages are likely adequate to compensate for a FRAND patentee’s injuries. I see no reason, therefore, why a party’s pre-litigation conduct in license negotiations should affect the availability of injunctive relief. 18 APPLE INC. v. MOTOROLA, INC. Instead, an injunction might be appropriate where, although monetary damages could compensate for the patentee’s injuries, the patentee is unable to collect the damages to which it is entitled. For example, if an alleged infringer were judgment-proof, a damages award would likely be an inadequate remedy. Or, if a defendant refused to pay a court-ordered damages award after being found to infringe a valid FRAND patent, a court might be justified in including an injunction as part of an award of sanctions. But regardless, these circumstances are not present in this case, and I agree with the district court that under the facts here, Motorola cannot show either irreparable harm or inadequacy of damages. I would therefore affirm the district court’s denial of Motorola’s claim for injunctive relief for the ’898 patent.