Fish and Richardson Litigation Blog publishes a summary of SiOnyx vs Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK) patent lawsuit:
"At trial, the jury found that the HPK willfully infringed SiOnyx’s U.S. Patent No. 8,080,467. The jury also found that HPK breached a non-disclosure agreement it had with SiOnyx, because “HPK took [SiOnyx’s] inventive ideas, added other inventive ideas to it, and obtained [nine] patents as a result.”
The jury awarded SiOnyx $796,469 in damages for breach of contract and $580,640 in damages for unjust enrichment. But, despite finding willful patent infringement, the jury awarded $0 in damages for patent infringement.
SiOnyx moved for “an injunction awarding [it] ownership of [HPK’s nine] patents….” The Court considered the jury’s finding that “HPK [] took confidential information SiOnyx had entrusted to it and used it for its own gain [by filing nine patents].” ....The Court thus granted an affirmative injunction “awarding and transferring ownership of [HPK’s nine] patents to SiOnyx[].”
The Court explained that “SiOnyx is a tiny company relying on a single type of technology, whereas HPK is a large company with a broad and diversified range of products.” Thus, the Court granted an injunction prohibiting HPK from “making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing products infringing [SiOnyx’s] ’467 patent.”
HPK appealed this case to the Federal Circuit in late August, and that appeal is pending."
HPK borrowed 'black Si technique 'from SiOnyx without returning.It is very disappointing that superior technique was stolen.
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