Patent Law

Pacing

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

Paice successfully sued Toyota for infringing hybrid vehicle drive train patents. Toyota couldn't get the verdict overturned on appeal, and SCOTUS blew them off. Not having the sense to settle, Toyota now faces a new suit.

Paice's new vehicle is 7,392,871. Paice asserted '871 in the Eastern District of Texas the very day it issued. The accused products include those found previously infringing: the Highlander SUV, and Lexus RX400h.

Paice, which had been denied injunctive relief in light of the 2006 eBay v. MercExchange SCOTUS ruling, chomps on the injunction bit again. Last round, Paice got $4.3 million in damages and ongoing royalty amounting to compulsory licensing. The new suit also requests enhanced damages from willful infringement, seeking to jump over the high bar of "objective recklessness" set in the 2007 CAFC ruling In Re Seagate.

Paice is represented by McKool Smith, with Fish & Richardson of counsel.

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on July 03, 2008 (boomark / email).