Navigating Through The Gate: Admitting Expert Testimony In IP Litigation

Expert testimony plays a critical role in intellectual property (IP) litigation, where questions about the scope of an IP owner's rights and whether those rights have been infringed often require a deep understanding of the underlying technology, market, or media. In these cases, parties frequently rely on expert witnesses to present scientific facts and opinions, while judges turn to experts to interpret technical evidence outside their own experience or knowledge. Unlike ordinary witnesses, expert witnesses are afforded "wide latitude to offer opinions, including those that are not based on firsthand knowledge or observation."¹ Given this, it is important for IP litigators to ensure that experts present their testimony effectively and properly in front of the fact-finder, as the exclusion of an expert's testimony can devastate a party's case. This is particularly true in patent damages where the Federal Circuit has shown new interest in the standards for