Three patent infringement awards of $1 billion or more topped Litigation 2013 affiliate VerdictSearch‘s Top 100 Verdicts of 2012. Among the 100 verdicts, intellectual property verdicts represented the largest category in number and dollar value last year. The trio of mega-awards represents a noticeable jump over results from the past three years, which each saw just one IP verdict higher than $1 billion.
The billion-dollar awards that dominated this year’s total reflect how pervasive technology has become in the nation’s economy, says Van Beckwith, a Dallas senior partner at Baker Botts, which had two successful patent infringement verdicts on the list last year. "Much of that technology is technology we all use every day," he says. "Many of these products are wildly popular. If you have infringement, and it goes against you with a jury, the numbers can be huge."
