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"Resq"Ing Patent Infringement Damages After Resqnet: The Dangers Of Litigation Licenses As Evidence Of A Reasonable Royalty, Layne S. Keele

Layne S. Keele

Almost everyone agrees that, when a patent owner seeks a reasonable royalty as patent infringement damages, prior patent licenses are useful in determining the reasonable royalty. But the use of licenses arising out of the settlement of litigation— “litigation licenses”—has met with mixed acceptance, with some courts admitting litigation licenses into evidence and other courts excluding the licenses under Rules 402, 403, or 408. Recently, some district courts have concluded that the Federal Circuit’s 2010 decision, ResQNet.com, Inc. v. Lansa, Inc. resolves this question in favor of the use of these litigation licenses. This article shows, first, that this conclusion …