SPECTRALYTICS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CORDIS CORPORATION, Defendant-Cross Appellant, and NORMAN NOBLE, INC., Defendant-Cross Appellant., 649 F.3d 1336

Summary

The patent in suit involved coronary stents. The jury sustained the validity of the patent and defendants argued on appeal that the decision below was in error because prior art rendered plaintiff patentee's device obvious. The district court had concluded that on the evidence presented a reasonable jury could have found that the prior art taught away from part of the design in the patent, and explained that such a finding supported the verdict that obviousness had not been proved. The court on review agreed that the correct law was applied, and that an implicit finding of teaching away was supported by substantial evidence. With respect to the 5-percent royalty, the court also agreed that the jury's choice of that amount was not outrageously high in view of expert testimony that 20-percent was reasonable and appropriate. However, the court vacated the district court's denial of enhanced damages, and remanded to the district court to redetermine whether enhanced damages were warranted ...