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How Evidence Of Subsequent Remedial Measures Matters, Bernard Chao, Kylie Santos
How Evidence Of Subsequent Remedial Measures Matters, Bernard Chao, Kylie Santos
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Federal Rule of Evidence 407 prohibits plaintiffs from introducing evidence of subsequent remedial measures to show that the defendant is to blame. Among its purported justifications, the rule prevents hindsight bias from unduly influencing jury decisions. Nonetheless, plaintiffs often take advantage of the rule’s numerous exceptions to introduce evidence of remedial measures for other purposes (e.g. to prove feasibility). Fearing that the exceptions could swallow the rule, some courts will even exclude evidence that fits into one of these exceptions because it is ostensibly too prejudicial. Alternatively, other courts instruct juries that they should only use the evidence for the …
Focusing Patent Litigation, Bernard Chao
Focusing Patent Litigation, Bernard Chao
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Patent litigation is often called the “sport of kings.” While that phrase may not be appropriate for all patent disputes, it is an apt description of the high-stakes cases. Attorneys in these lawsuits tend to zealously advocate for their respective sides by asserting every argument that they can legitimately raise. Patentees often assert an excessive number of patent claims and even pile on unnecessary patents. Some of these claims may be well-founded. But so long as they can make a colorable infringement argument, patentees typically include many weaker claims too. Likewise, patent defendants respond with burdensome and duplicative invalidity defenses. …
Saliency, Anchors & Frames: A Multicomponent Damages Experiment, Bernard Chao
Saliency, Anchors & Frames: A Multicomponent Damages Experiment, Bernard Chao
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Modern technology products contain thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of different features. Nonetheless, when electronics manufacturers are sued for patent infringement, these suits typically accuse only one feature, or in more complex suits, a handful of features, of actual patent infringement. But damages verdicts often do not reflect the relatively small contribution an individual patent makes to an infringing product. One study observed that verdicts in these types of cases average 9.98% of the price of the entire product. While both courts and commentators have blamed the law of patent damages, the role cognitive biases play in these outsized damages …