Ninth Circuit Upholds Judge Robart's RAND Determinations In Microsoft v. Motorola

Late last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its much-anticipated decision in Microsoft v. Motorola, a breach of contract action brought by Microsoft alleging that Motorola violated its commitment to license its standard essential patents (SEPs) on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. In a detailed, 64-page opinion, the appeals court affirmed Judge Robart’s determination of the RAND rates for each of the two sets of SEPs at issue in the case, and upheld both the jury’s finding that Motorola breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing, and its $14.5 million damages award for that breach. Although not binding on the Federal Circuit, the Ninth Circuit’s decision touches on some of the important questions in the evolving jurisprudence of SEP enforcement.