Recent patent infringement awards have been staggering

  • $125 million for a cookie recipe “Proctor & Gamble v. Nabisco”
  • $205 million for the design of a rock drive bit “Smith Industries v. Hughes Tool”
  • $873 million for the rights to an instant camera “Polaroid v. Kodak”
  • $56 million for an antibiotic “Pfizer v. International Rectifier”
  • $44 million for a blood oxygenator “Pfizer v. American Hospital Supply”

Other decisions of note include:

  • “Alpex Computer Corporation was awarded $208 million in Alpex Computer Corporation v. Nintendo America, Inc. for infringement of Alpex video game graphics patents,” Los Angeles Times
  • “Texas Instruments formed licensing agreements with 26 semiconductor companies since 1989 and reports it has more than tripled its royalties. The company’s 1993 royalties on its patents reached $521 million,” Electronic News
  • “In a February 1994 ruling, Microsoft Corporation ordered to pay Stac Electronics $120 million in patent infringement lawsuit, Stac electronics v. Microsoft, for disk compression software,” Info Canada
  • “The cost of IBM’s patent license agreement royalty payments for disk drive patents adds $100 to $150 to the price of a computer,” PC Week

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