Oracle changes legal strategy in IP claim against Google
Oracle has offered to drop its patent charges against Google and rely only on copyright infringement, if the court will hear the copyright complaints quickly. In a filing made January 17, Oracle lays out three proposals to move the case forward: Oracle initially asks that the court “sever and stay” the patent claims and set [...]
Despite ‘egregious’ theft of trade secrets, damages hard to prove
Pure Power Boot Camp v. Warrior Fitness Boot Camp, 2011 WL 4035751 (S.D. N.Y.) (Sept. 12, 2011) While working as a Wall Street trader, the plaintiff got inspired to start her own physical fitness studio, based on a military boot camp. She visited Fort Knox to research the design, and after investing substantial time and [...]
$1.33 billion damages fails for lack of ‘real world’ comparables
In another high-profile, high-stakes litigation concerning high-tech IP, a jury awarded the plaintiff (Oracle USA) $1.3 billion in damages against the defendant SAP, the world’s largest business application software manufacturer. Not only was the jury award the largest in 2010—and the largest ever for copyright infringement—but it also equaled the defendant’s 4Q2010 net income, according [...]
Damages and insured claims–CLE opportunity next week
How to calculate lost business under insurance claims Next Tuesday, October 4, don’t miss “Calculating Damages for Insured Claims.” In this second installment of BVR’s Online Symposium on Litigation & Economic Damages, attorneys John Garaffa (Butler Pappas) and Jack Montgomery (Bernstein Shur) will discuss of the determination, calculation, analysis, and presentation of economic damages claims involving insurance, including [...]
On-line CLE series on financial damages analyses for litigation
Consider BVR’s new Online Symposium on Litigation & Economic Damages, a thirteen-part series of webinars that will cover advanced topics in appraisal for litigation and economic damages, such as: On September 13th, attorneys Timothy Devlin and William Marsden Jr. (both Fish & Richardson) will present “Working with Financial Experts,” an in-depth discussion of how attorneys and [...]
Google outlines legal strategy in Oracle expert challenge
BVLaw Alert has blogged a couple of times about Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., on the Java code allegedly found in Android software and on Google strategy. Oracle hired Boston University professor Iain Cockburn—the extensively published academic—to calculate and prove the alleged damages. Our reading of Google’s pre-Daubert challenge filing indicates that they will attack his credentials. For [...]
Plaintiff claims expert with no industry experience cannot rebut loss of use damages
Level 3 Communications v. Floyd, 2011 WL 11000078 (M.D. Tenn.)(March 22, 2011) While excavating a residential subdivision, a general contractor severed a traffic-bearing cable belonging to the plaintiff, a telecommunications provider. Fortunately, the plaintiff had invested in spare, emergency capacity on which it could “roll” customer call traffic until repairs could restore the damaged cable. [...]
Even Ibbotson can be challenged by aggressive defense counsel
Two related cases (Metro Tech Corp. v. TUV Rheinland of N.A., 2010 WL 4117123 (D. Puerto Rico.)(Oct. 18, 2010); and Metro Tech Corp. v. TUV Rheinland of N.A., 2010 WL 4117115 (D. Puerto Rico.)(Oct. 18, 2010)) show how far opposing counsel will go to discredit the testimony of a financial expert. In this case, the [...]
Which kind of expert succeeds in economic damages cases?
Not many published court opinions give meaningful guidance on determining the discount rate in economic damages case (see BVWire #92-5). A new decision concerning lost profits for the breach of a franchise lease finds the plaintiff’s BV analyst going against a real estate appraiser, with the win going to—wait for it . . . the [...]
Top Grant Thornton experts compare lost profits and business valuation
In Grant Thornton’s recent Focus on Forensics newsletter, Neil Beaton and Michael Fahlman provide a foundation for understanding the differences between business valuation and lost profits damages calculation methods. “If a lost profits analysis is performed, can a business valuation analysis also be performed to measure the total damages owed?” ask the authors. “It can,” [...]
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