June 27, 2008
Jury awards U.S. Philips Corporation $43,154,123.60 in damages in a patent infringement lawsuit against Iwasaki Electric Company, Ltd.
On June 24, a jury awarded Willkie client U.S. Philips Corporation $43,154,123.60 in damages in a patent infringement lawsuit against Iwasaki Electric Company, Ltd. Philips had alleged that Iwasaki infringed a patent related to its Emmy Award winning ultra-high performance (UHP) lamps, U.S. Patent No. 5,109,181, by inducing its customers to import products that infringed Philips’s patent. Iwasaki contended that it did not infringe the patent and counterclaimed for a ruling that the patent was invalid as obvious. Following a two week trial, the jury held that the patent was valid and infringed, that Iwasaki had actively induced its customers to infringe in the United States, and that Philips was entitled to a royalty of $28.70 for each of the 1,503,628 infringing Iwasaki units sold in the United States.
The case, U.S. Philips Corp. v. Iwasaki Electric Co., et al, was tried before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case was handled by partners John DiMatteo and Steven Reisberg, and associates Sean Buckley, Kathryn Fugina and Andrew Noble.