IPO Chat Channel: Willfulness, Enhanced Damages, and Opinions of Counsel Since Halo

Litigation attorney Chris Marchese will speak at the IP Chat Channel webinar Willfulness, Enhanced Damages, and Opinions of Counsel Since Halo on Thursday, February 23. It has been more than six months since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Halo decision lowered the bar for proving willful infringement, and this boon for plaintiffs is quickly changing trial strategy.

The panel of experienced litigators will begin by examining how courts post-Halo have decided the sufficiency of pleading for enhanced damages at the motion-to-dismiss stage. Then, the panel will consider the factors that have most strongly influenced recent district court decisions to enhance — or not enhance — damages, including notice by the patent owner (cases such as CH20 and Finjan), copying (Westerbeke, Imperium, and PPC), and opinions of counsel (Dominion, Presidio, and Boston University). A favorably timed opinion of counsel can prove successful in warding off a finding of willfulness, but defendants need to consider the effect of an opinion of counsel on attorney-client privilege.