"In re Seagate Technology": Closing the Gate on Willful Infringement

Companies accused of patent infringement have another reason to breathe easier. On August 20, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an en banc decision making it harder for patent holders to obtain enhanced damages for willful infringement and limiting the scope of waiver resulting from reliance on an opinion of counsel. As a result, the days of including a boilerplate charge of "willful infringement" and seeking enhanced damages in nearly every patent infringement action may be gone. The decision is the most recent in a string of cases affecting the strength of patent rights. The decisions include the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rulings in eBay, which made it more difficult for patent holders to obtain injunctions, and KSR, which relaxed the requirements for proving that a patent is invalid as obvious.