Opinion ID: 422278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Saturn's Appeal

Text: 44 The district court denied Saturn's request for prejudgment interest observing that prejudgment interest under 35 U.S.C. § 284 (1976) was to be awarded in the discretion of the court and that the general rule was that interest should be awarded from the date damages are determined. We need not determine whether the district court's conclusion at the time this case was tried was based on valid reasons. The Supreme Court in General Motors Corp. v. Devex Corp., --- U.S. ----, 103 S.Ct. 2058, 76 L.Ed.2d 211 (1983), held that prejudgment interest ordinarily should be awarded under 35 U.S.C. § 284 absent some justification for withholding such an award. The Court reasoned that prejudgment interest is necessary to ensure that the patent owner is placed in as good a position as he would have been in had the infringer entered into a reasonable royalty agreement. An award of interest from the time that the royalty payments would have been received merely serves to make the patent owner whole .... Id. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 2062-63 (footnote omitted). It is evident that the district court did not approach the question of prejudgment interest under the principles laid down in the later Devex case, and we feel it appropriate to remand this issue to the district court for further consideration under the standards announced in Devex. 9 45 The district court also denied Saturn's requests to increase the damages awarded by the jury and to award attorney fees. The court recognized that 35 U.S.C. § 284 (1976) authorized it to increase the damages up to three times the amount found and that 35 U.S.C. § 285 (1976) authorized it to award attorney fees in exceptional cases. The court concluded: Defendants' conduct, in the opinion of the Court, was neither egregious nor taken in bad faith. Plaintiff's proposed judgment for treble damages and attorney's fees, therefore, will not be entered. In so concluding, as it did with respect to prejudgment interest, the district court apparently considered exceptional circumstances to be required to justify an award of increased damages. Here the jury found willful or wanton infringement of the Saturn patent, and this ordinarily is sufficient to support an award of increased damages. See Milgo Electronic Corp. v. United Business Communications, Inc., 623 F.2d 645, 666 (10th Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1066, 101 S.Ct. 794, 66 L.Ed.2d 611 (1980); General Electric Co. v. Sciaky Bros., 415 F.2d 1068, 1071-74 (6th Cir.1969). It appears that the district court imposed a higher standard, the exceptional circumstances standard, in denying increased damages. Although an award of increased damages is discretionary under the statute and the decided cases, nonetheless in view of the analysis in Devex that section 284 does not incorporate the exceptional circumstances standard of section 285, see --- U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 2061, we feel it appropriate to remand this issue to the district court for further consideration in light of Devex. 46 The findings of the district court fully support its conclusion that this is not such an exceptional case as to justify an award of attorney fees.