Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Terry Clark and Brian Iverson authored an article outlining two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that could significantly impact patent infringement lawsuits. The cases, Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc. and Stryker Corporation v. Zimmer, Inc., challenge the standard for proving willful infringement in patent liability cases and will hopefully set a standard that strikes a balance for all parties involved in these types of suits. As Terry and Brian point out in the article, “[i]f the Court sets too high a standard for willful infringement, it might encourage pirating—or deliberate and intentional copying of intellectual property…. Too low a standard, however, could raise the barriers for small startup innovators and feed the trolls.”
The full article, “Thoughts on Changing the Willful Patent Infringement Standard,” was published in the March/April 2016 issue of IP Litigator and is available in the PDF below.