Colorado Jury Renders Verdict of Patent Infringement, Including Rare Finding of Willful Infringement
Denver, Co. (February 27, 2019) - Denver Partners Ian R. Walsworth and Alyssa K. Sandrowitz and Associate William W. Mauke recently received a favorable verdict on all counts pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. On February 15, the eight jurors empaneled before Federal Judge Raymond Moore of the U.S. District of Colorado returned a unanimous verdict in favor of our client, Colorado Box Company, awarding them lost profits and finding willful infringement by the defendant’s president. The jury also rejected the defendants’ counterclaims that the asserted U.S. Patent No. 8,999,029 is invalid, which included findings that Colorado Box Company’s invention was commercially successful, was praised by others in the field, and was copied by others.
The original complaint asserted that S&H Sheet Metal, Inc. and its principals, Mr. Von Honnecke and Mr. Chase Honnecke, infringed 11 claims of the ‘029 Patent, and did so willfully. The jury largely agreed. According to the verdict, all three accused generations of the defendants’ “Return Air Filter Box” (the original and two redesigned products) directly and indirectly infringe the ‘029 Patent.
More specifically, S&H was found to directly infringe all of the asserted claims by making the accused furnace filter boxes, and all the defendants were found to have contributed to infringement by others, and to have induced others to infringe upon Colorado Box Company’s novel method claims (for assembling a furnace filter box).
The jury awarded lost profits in the amount of $475,000, which may be enhanced by the Court in light of the jury’s willfulness finding. In addition, the number of infringing units may be adjusted upwardly to account for sales occurring after September 14, 2018.
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