Judge Gilstrap Awards Enhanced Damages in LG/Core Wireless Dispute

Nov 10, 2016

Reading Time : 1 min

This case began in 2014, when Core Wireless sued LG, alleging infringement of two patents directed toward improving battery life and voice quality in cellphones. The patents are part of a portfolio of around 2,000 patents that Core Wireless acquired from Nokia in 2011. According to the court, Core Wireless approached LG about licensing its portfolio and engaged in a long series of meetings, including seven in Seoul, Korea, at LG’s headquarters. At the end of the licensing discussions, LG invited Core Wireless to Korea indicating that it was going to make an offer for license. Instead, LG delivered a one-page presentation to Core Wireless where it stated that a lawsuit was preferable to a license and that LG did not want to be the first major cellular phone manufacturer to license the portfolio. Instead, LG wanted to wait for another major manufacturer to license the portfolio and be a “follower” using an established royalty scheme. This was one of the primary facts that Judge Gilstrap held weighed in favor of enhancement. Judge Gilstrap noted that LG’s one-page presentation should have been sent via email instead of delivered at an in person meeting in Korea.

Judge Gilstrap also relied on other factors to support his decision to enhance damages. It was undisputed that LG had knowledge of the patents-in-suit and that LG’s ability to “muster” a non-infringement position did not insulate it from enhanced damages—especially under the Supreme Court’s recent Halo decision. Further, the Court found that LG’s invalidity defense was undermined by admissions by LG’s corporate representative that he had thoroughly reviewed Core Wireless’s patents and concluded that they were novel and non-obvious. The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,804,850 and 6,633,536.

Core Wireless Licensing v. LG Elecs., Inc., No. 2:14-cv-912-JRG (E.D. Tex. Nov. 1, 2016).

Share This Insight

Previous Entries

IP Newsflash

July 25, 2025

Earlier this year, the Federal Circuit’s decision in Qualcomm Inc. v. Apple Inc. (Qualcomm II) raised questions about the extent to which petitioners can rely on applicant admitted prior art (“AAPA”) in inter partes review proceedings.  The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Shockwave Medical, Inc. v. Cardiovascular Sys., Inc. largely cabins the Qualcomm II decision to its particular facts and makes clear that AAPA can be used as evidence of background knowledge as part of an obviousness argument.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

July 11, 2025

The Federal Circuit recently reversed a PTAB determination on remand that a patent was obvious over applicant admitted prior art (“AAPA”) in combination with prior art patents, holding that expressly designating AAPA as a “basis” for a ground is improper under 35 U.S.C. § 311(b). In doing so, the Court rejected the PTAB’s “blanket rule” that “AAPA used in combination with prior art patents or printed publications under § 311(b) is ipso facto not the basis or part of the basis of a ground.” Ultimately, while the case clarifies that expressly listing AAPA in an IPR ground is improper, the precise line between proper and improper uses of AAPA in other instances remains unclear.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

July 1, 2025

In an appeal from an inter partes review, the Federal Circuit recently clarified that the enablement inquiry applied to prior art references in the context of an anticipation defense differs from the enablement inquiry applied when evaluating the claims of a patent.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

June 26, 2025

The Northern District of Ohio denied a motion to compel the plaintiff to produce test results referenced in its initial disclosures and complaint. The court found that because the “test results are not facts but rather are opinions,” the information was protected as work product. Furthermore, because that testing would not be used as evidence in the litigation, the defendant was not prejudiced.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

June 6, 2025

In a precedential opinion, the Federal Circuit definitively held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has jurisdiction over IPRs that concern expired patents.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

June 6, 2025

In a patent infringement litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Judge Rodney Gilstrap denied a joint motion to stay the litigation pending resolution of inter partes review when it was uncertain that all defendants would be bound by the statutory estoppel provision of 35 U.S.C. § 315(e).

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

May 30, 2025

A district court recently dismissed a patent infringement complaint for improper venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), finding that the storage and distribution of products from an Amazon warehouse was not sufficient to establish that warehouse as a regular and established place of business in the district.

...

Read More

IP Newsflash

May 27, 2025

The Federal Circuit affirmed a District of Delaware finding of non-infringement in an ANDA litigation due to the patentee’s clear and unmistakable disavowal of claim scope during prosecution. Specifically, the court held that statements made during prosecution of a parent application before the asserted claims were allowed amounted to a prosecution disclaimer that extended to subsequent patents in the family. In reaching this conclusion, the court rejected an attempt by the patentee to resurrect the claim scope through a unilateral, self-serving statement made in later applications in the family.

...

Read More

© 2025 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.