Opinion ID: 2961195
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Lump Sum

Text: Summit cross-appeals, challenging the district court’s determination that the jury verdict represents an amount of a lump-sum license through the life of the patent and compensates Summit for both past and future infringement. Summit argues that the jury’s award cannot be a lump sum through the life of the patent because the relevant evidence, arguments, and instructions, and the verdict form were all limited to damages for past infringement. Summit also argues that its equitable claim for future damages is not an issue for the jury. Thus, Summit concludes that it is entitled to recover damages for future infringement. We disagree. This court has not directly addressed whether a jury can award lump-sum damages through the life of the SUMMIT 6, LLC v. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. 27 patent. We have, however, permitted such relief. In Telcordia Techs., Inc. v. Cisco Sys., Inc., 612 F.3d 1365, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2010), the district court rejected the defendant’s argument that the jury’s damages award was necessarily a lump-sum award intended to compensate the patentee for past and future infringement, reasoning that the evidence at trial provided no way of knowing what the jury actually did. Telcordia, 592 F. Supp. 2d 727, 747 n.8 (D. Del. 2009), aff’d in part, vacated in part, 612 F.3d 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2010). When the defendant appealed the district court’s order granting the patentee equitable relief in the form of an ongoing royalty, this court affirmed, reasoning that the court did not abuse its “broad discretion” in interpreting the verdict form because the verdict form was ambiguous, neither party had proposed the jury’s exact $6.5 million award, and it was “unclear whether the jury based its award on a lump-sum, paid-up license, running royalty, some variation or combination of the two, or some other theory.” Telcordia, 612 F.3d at 1378. Similarly, in Whitserve, LLC v. Computer Packages, Inc., 694 F.3d 10, 35-38 (Fed. Cir. 2012), this court vacated and remanded the district court’s denial of supplemental damages for infringement after the verdict but before final judgment was entered because the court had failed to explain its reasons for denying such damages. This court rejected the defendant’s argument that the patentee’s supplemental damages request was properly denied because the jury had necessarily awarded a lumpsum license for all past and future infringement. Id. at 38. This court noted that “nothing in the record would support” that conclusion because “the parties limited their damages arguments to past infringement rather than projected future infringement” and the “jury’s verdict did not indicate that the award was meant to cover future use of [plaintiff’s] patents[.]” Id. at 35. 28 SUMMIT 6, LLC v. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. In this case, the district court properly denied Summit’s request for an ongoing royalty because the jury award compensated Summit for both past and future infringement through the life of the patent. Samsung’s expert, Mr. Martinez, testified that a lump-sum award was appropriate. J.A. 7089-90. He also testified regarding the weight the jury should give the license agreements introduced into evidence, all of which were lump-sum licenses. Moreover, Summit’s expert, Mr. Benoit, admitted that a lump-sum award would compensate Summit through the life of the patent. J.A. 6452, 6479-80. When the jury returned its verdict, it indicated on the verdict form that the award was a lump sum by writing “lump sum” on the verdict form. We see no basis to disturb the district court’s determination and hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Summit’s request for an ongoing royalty.