QUESTION OF WHETHER A REASONABLE PERSON WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED THERE TO BE A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF INFRINGEMENT OF A VALID PATENT SHOULD BE DECIDED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY THE JUDGE

摘要

In an action alleging willful patent infringement, the ultimate legal question of whether a reasonable person would have considered there to be a high likelihood of infringement of a valid patent should always be decided as a matter of law by the judge. Thus, remand was required in an action alleging willful patent infringement to allow the trial court to determine, under the correct standard, whether a reasonable litigant could realistically expect the in-fringer's defenses to succeed. See Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. v. W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., 103 U.S.P.Q.2d 1088, 2012 WL 2149495 (Fed. Cir. 2012).