In Packet Intelligence, LLC v. NetScout Systems, Inc. [2019-2041] (July 14, 2020), the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s award of $3.5 million in pre-suit damages and vacated the court’s enhancement of that award, but affirmed the district court’s judgment in all other respects.

The Federal Circuit noted that an alleged infringer bears an initial burden of production to articulate the products it believes are unmarked patented articles subject to the marking requirement. This initial burden is a “low bar” and the alleged infringer needed only to put the patentee on notice that certain licensees sold specific unmarked products that the alleged infringer believes practice the patent. The burden then falls on the patentee to prove that the identified products do not practice the patent-at-issue.

NetScout argued that Packet Intelligence is not entitled to pre-suit damages because it failed to prove that MeterFlow, an unmarked product of Packet Intelligence’s licensee, did not practice the patent. The Federal Circuit agreed that under the standard articulated in Arctic Cat, Packet Intelligence bore the burden of proving that the MeterFlow product identified by NetScout did not practice at least one claim of the patent. Because Packet Intelligence failed to present substantial evidence to the jury that matched the limitations in any claim of the patent to the features of the Meter-Flow product, NetScout is entitled to judgment as a matter of law that it is not liable for pre-suit damages based on infringement of the patent.

Packet Intelligence further argued that the two method patents, which are not subject to the marking requirement, would alternatively support the award of pre-suit damages. The Federal Circuit disagreed, however, noting that method claims are not directly infringed by the mere sale of an apparatus capable of performing the claimed process. Thus, Packet Intelligence could not simply count sales of the software accused of infringing the ’789 patent as sales of the method claimed in the ’725 and ’751 patents. Instead, Packet Intelligence was required to produce evidence that the claimed method was actually used and hence infringed. The Federal Circuit rejected Packet Intelligence’s efforts to show that NetScout’s internal use justified the entire damage award, noting that the damages base was not tailored to any alleged internal use of the claimed methods.

Takeaway:

Patent owners should police the marking by their licensees, and remember to always completely prove their entitlement to damages when challenged by the accused infringer.