Seeking Comparables in Patent and Tax

Abstract

In their Article, Tax Solutions to Patent Damages, Jennifer Blouin and Melissa Wasserman argue that tax transfer prices can provide data to help calculate patent litigation damages. But tax transfer prices are imperfect for reasons of theory, doctrine, taxpayer and government incentives, and enforcement constraints. A court that relies on tax transfer prices to help set patent damage awards takes on the herculean task of analyzing many subtle contextual factors in two intricate regulatory systems, patent and tax. Such an analysis may fall under the weight of its own complexity.

Keywords: Tax, Transfer Pricing, Patent Litigation, Patent Damages

JEL Classification: K11, K23, K34, K41