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Aug 15, 2017

No Right to a Jury Trial for Attorney Fee Awards Under 35 U.S. Code § 285

Patent Law Book

Section 285 of the Patent Act provides: “The court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.”  But, does the Seventh Amendment require a jury trial to decide the facts forming the basis of an award of attorney’s fees under § 285 of the Patent Act?  In AIA America v. Avid Radiopharma (Fed. Cir. 2017), the Federal Circuit has ruled that the factual basis for an attorney fee award need not be decided by a jury — affirming a $4 million fee award that followed a jury trial on the sole issue of whether the plaintiff… Read more