Patent Infringement Damages: Lost Profits and Royalties

The Georgia-Pacific Factors

Note: The following excerpts reference Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. U.S. Plywood Corp., 318 F. Supp. 1116, 1120 (S.D.N.Y. 1970)

The Georgia-Pacific factors are comprised of both quantitative-focused and qualitative-focused factors. The quantitative focused factors essentially provide a framework to address a royalty rate as a specific rate or amount; qualitative-focused factors recognize additional facts and circumstances, although, in some instances, the qualitative-focused factors incorporate quantitative elements (such as consideration of sales and profit amounts).

Once an expert develops a practical understanding of the technology, the process of developing a reasonable royalty logically starts by considering quantitative data. Naturally, every case and every invention will be different. So, too, is the availability of quantitative data. Nonetheless, these quantitative data provide the starting point to determine the patented technology’s value expressed in terms of a reasonable royalty rate or amount, which further analysis should refine.

For more information or insight into these passages from The Comprehensive Guide to Economic Damages, please feel free to contact us.

Ammar Susnerwala Joins The BERO Group

July 18, 2022 | NEWS

The BERO Group is excited to welcome Ammar Susnerwala as the newest member of our team. Ammar Susnerwala is a financial analyst at The BERO Group. He received an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the University of Mumbai and a master's degree in Finance from the University of Illinois – Chicago.

The Bero Group is a proud sponsor of the
Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association

The Bero Group is a proud sponsor of
The Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association

The Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association (EDWBA) is dedicated to improving the practice of attorneys appearing before the Eastern District, by providing legal education seminars, e-newsletters, and networking opportunities with peers and members of the bench.

The Bero Group is a proud sponsor of the
Milwaukee Bar Association

Established in 1858, the mission of the Milwaukee Bar Association is to be an inclusive, equitable, and diverse organization that serves the interests of the lawyers, judges, and the people of Milwaukee County

The 2022 Edition
of the ACFE
Report to the Nations

Occupational fraud is very likely the most costly and most common form of financial crime in the world. The term occupational fraud refers to frauds that are committed by individuals against the organizations that employ them.

This particular study is unique in that it explores frauds that were investigated during a global pandemic. As such, anti-fraud professionals were challenged to find new and innovative ways to conduct their work. The ACFE study represents the most comprehensive examination available of the costs, methods, victims, and perpetrators of occupational fraud.

In addition, the ACFE report addresses the evolving use of cryptocurrency as a tool used in frauds involving bribery, kickback payments and the conversion of misappropriated assets.

Now in Print!

The Litigator's
Damages Blueprint
The Pragmatic Solution

Not a how-to-calculate-damages book, but a process that The BERO Group calls
"The Pragmatic Solution" which can help you manage your damages case.

From start to finish, learn to work effectively and efficiently with your damages litigation team. This book will guide you through the steps to achieve success, offering a structure to engage fully with your damages analysis as you move from early preparation up to and through trial.

The Pragmatic Solution method will guide you through your work with your damages expert and help you develop a well-reasoned analysis that aligns with your liability case.

Purchase a copy today!

Richard Bero,
Contributing author to

The Comprehensive Guide to

Economic Damages

This new edition, edited by Nancy J. Fannon, Jonathan Dunitz, Jimmy Pappas, Bill Scally, and Steve Veenema, features 49 chapters drawing on the expertise of nearly 70 financial experts and attorneys.

The Comprehensive Guide to Economic Damages (6th Edition) combines the economic expert’s knowledge of damages calculations and methods with legal and case analysis. It provides a deep and rich resource for financial experts and attorneys seeking guidance on appropriate remedies and related damages calculations, and addresses many of the problems that may arise in any case. The breadth and depth of topics discussed, along with 300 court case digests, makes the Guide the most comprehensive body of knowledge relating to economic damages available.

You can find Rick Bero's contributing chapters in Volume One,

Part IV. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAMAGES
Chapter 28. Patent Infringement Damages: Lost Profits and Royalties
By Richard F. Bero, CPA/ABV, CVA, CLP, and Autumn N. Nero, Esq.

Chapter 29. Design Patent Damages
By Richard F. Bero, CPA/ABV, CVA, CLP, and Christopher V. Carani, Esq.

Chapter 30. Trade Secret Damages
By Richard F. Bero, CPA/ABV, CVA, CLP, and Jon Margolies, Esq.

Purchase a copy here

The Damages Report

Hire Your Damages Expert Early
(and the Federal Circuit agrees?)

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr., CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
January 2022

Just like hiring an architect before you build your new home, hiring a damages expert before you build your case makes sense. It may just provide you and your clients with damages related insights early on that can help guide portions of your case. A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “Federal Circuit”) may also highlight the importance of doing so.

Economic Damages, CPAs and a Bowl of Ice Cream

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr., CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
May 2021

The majority of economic damages experts I am aware of are either CPAs or academics.
Why are economic damages experts often CPAs?

Why Are Lost Wages Certain?
They Aren’t.

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr., CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
April 2021

I remember years ago my first wrongful death, lost wage (w-2 employee wage) claim. The economist quantified lost wages through the Social Security Administration’s retirement age and “discounted” them back to the present using the total offset method.

I understood the concept of the total offset method. What bothered me, however, was the idea that wages, through retirement age, were as certain (riskless) as a U.S. Government Bond.

Proximate Cause, Foundation and Alignment

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr.,
CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
March 2021

While damage experts are usually aware of connecting damages with proximate cause, I am sometimes surprised by how misguided some experts' understanding of it is. Damage experts and attorneys should know that any claimed damages must be proximately caused by the alleged wrongdoing(s). The concept of proximate cause dates back to at least 1858.

Sunk Costs, Capital Obsolescence and COVID-19

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr., CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
January 2021

In the Capitolism Newsletter, I learned that Josh Hawley berated Walmart in a Twitter Tweet: “… for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business.”

Mr. Hawley is ignoring the concept of sunk costs and perhaps knows most of us forget the concept often… I can’t sell my house – I have too much sunk into it … The “mom and pop stores” are the sunk costs of the populist right. Mom and pop stores equal Capital Obsolescence as spotlighted and amplified by the COVID crisis, the rule of sunk costs dictates, we ignore them and move on.

COVID-19 Impacts Discount Rates, Which Impacts Some Damage Calculations

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr., CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
August 2020

I had a discussion with an attorney recently wherein the topic of COVID-19 and foreseeability arose. In the hypothetical being discussed, the claimed wrongdoing occurred mid-2019 and its economic impact continues today. In mid-2019, COVID-19 was not reasonably foreseeable, so my initial thoughts included the consideration of minimizing or correcting for the COVID-19 economic impact. COVID-19 is novel (you caught the pun there, reader, didn’t you? )

COVID-19 Impacts Damage Calculations — as may any major macroeconomic factor

By Ronald A. Bero, Jr., CPA/ABV, CVA, CFF
August 2020

MLC Intellectual Property, LLC v. Micron Technology, Inc.

On June 11, 2020, Jim McGovern, a Senior Director of The BERO Group, along with David Long of Essential Patent LLC, gave a presentation to the IPO Damages Committee. Jim and David discussed damages issues addressed in MLC Intellectual Property, LLC v. Micron Technology, Inc., No. 3:14-cv-03657 (N.D. Cal.), No. 2020-1413 (Fed. Cir.). In 2014, MLC Intellectual Property, LLC (“MLC”) sued Micron Technology Inc. (“Micron”) for patent infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,764,571 (the “ ‘571 patent”). The ‘571 patent generally related to non-volatile memory devices. MLC alleged that certain Micron flash memory products, that could be used in consumer products including tablet computers, personal music players, smart phones and other wireless devices, infringed the ‘571 patent.

News, Events and Insights

Now in Print!

The Litigator's
Damages Blueprint
The Pragmatic Solution

Rick Bero Shares The BERO Group Approach to Litigation

Economic Damages

The Damages Report

News, Events and Insights

Now in Print!

The Litigator's Damages Blueprint The Pragmatic Solution

Rick Bero Shares The BERO Group Approach to Litigation

Economic Damages

The Damages Report

The Litigator's
Damages Blueprint
The Pragmatic Solution