Owing to the dearth of patent trials during the pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has had relatively few opportunities to address damages issues over the past year. But some sizable jury awards from last year are now providing the Federal Circuit an opportunity to clarify important points of damages law. Those points will have an immediate impact on litigators in framing their damages theories, working with experts, and addressing related motions practice.

The recent Federal Circuit decision in California Institute of Technology v. Broadcom Ltd. (CalTech) addressed two issues of damages law that could have important practical ramifications. By way of brief background, CalTech sued Broadcom and Apple in connection with Wi-Fi chips that Broadcom manufactured and Apple incorporated into smartphones, tablets, and computers. CalTech prevailed on its infringement theories, and the jury issued a damages award of over $288 million against Broadcom and over $885 million against Apple. On appeal, the defendants raised a variety of issues. This article focuses on two.