Finding Reasonable Royalty Damages: A Contract Approach to Patent Infringement

Abstract

The article introduces a contract approach to patent infringement and develops a methodology for finding reasonable royalty damages. The contract approach complements approaches based on property and tort, thus providing a more complete understanding of damages. The article argues that the patent infringement case should specify an informed contract. The informed contract improves estimation of damages by taking into account information revealed during the period of infringement. The article introduces a market value method for calculating reasonable royalty damages based on patent transfer prices. The contract approach helps calculate reasonable royalty damages based on royalties in comparable patent licenses. The contract approach addresses various controversies over reasonable royalty damages.

Keywords: Patent, contract, infringement, damages, reasonable royalties

JEL Classification: K10, K30