Plaintiff Pavo Solutions has filed a motion for enhanced damages for willfulness against defendant Kingston Technology Company. Pavo wants the award for damages to be tripled “as a punitive measure and to discourage similar conduct by Kingston in the future,” adding that because Kingston is a large company, enhanced damages “is viable and necessary to change its behavior.”
Pavo alleges that Kingston willfully infringed for a total of seven and a half years, five of which took place after receiving notice of its infringement. The court found that Kingston Technology infringed on U.S. Patent No. 6,926,544 (the ’544 patent). Later, the jury found that Kingston Technology willfully infringed the patent. Pavo Solutions argues that Defendant’s willfulness and factors “such as Kingston’s failure to present evidence that its continued infringement, after receiving notice of its infringement of the ’544 patent, was in good faith; the fact that the case was not close; and Kingston’s improper litigation conduct” favor enhanced damages.
Pavo Solutions states that Kingston used its financial power to “employ a strategy of unjustifiably multiplying proceedings and increasing the costs and time required of Pavo; it was successful despite its weak argument. Pavo alleges multiple examples of Kingston’s wrongdoing after it received an infringement notice. For instance, “Kingston served knowingly false discovery responses; attempted to rewrite deposition testimony; had its witnesses directly contravene sworn deposition testimony; withheld evidence of accused product costs from both Pavo and its own damages expert, and then prejudiced Pavo by having its fact witness introduce the withheld evidence for the first time at trial,” among other things. Further, Pavo argues that “Kingston had the means to make the litigation as difficult as possible, and so it did so without regard to merit, its discovery obligations, or the truth.”
The underlying suit was filed in the California Central District Court. Pavo Solutions is represented by Russ August & Kabat. Kingston Technology is represented by Fish & Richardson. Kingston has filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Briefing on both Kingston’s motion and the motion to enhance damages is set to proceed throughout April, although Kingston has moved for an extension of time due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
