Expert Opinion on Reasonable Royalty Excluded As Unreliable Because It Was Based on a Litigation Verdict and Did Not Account for Litigation-Related Economic Circumstances

Apr 20, 2016

Reading Time : 1 min

The verdict at issue was a case between Mars and Heinz from 2003. The court noted, citing to ResQNet.com, Inc. v. Lansa, Inc., 594 F.3d 860 (Fed. Cir. 2010), that the Federal Circuit has ruled that “litigation itself can skew the results of the hypothetical negotiation.” That is because the hypothetical reasonable royalty calculation occurs before litigation. Mr. Britven’s opinion did not establish whether the Heinz verdict was comparable to a hypothetical reasonable royalty. His opinion also failed to establish that the technology in the Heinz case was comparable, so the court struck the portions of Mr. Britven’s expert reports discussing the Heinz litigation and precluded any testimony regarding the same.

Mars, Inc. v. TruRX LLC, et al., 13-cv-526 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 18, 2016)

Share This Insight

© 2024 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. All rights reserved. Attorney advertising. This document is distributed for informational use only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be used as such. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Akin is the practicing name of Akin Gump LLP, a New York limited liability partnership authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 267321. A list of the partners is available for inspection at Eighth Floor, Ten Bishops Square, London E1 6EG. For more information about Akin Gump LLP, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and other associated entities under which the Akin Gump network operates worldwide, please see our Legal Notices page.