Intellectual Property Litigation: Federal Circuit Reinforces Patent Marking Requirements for Settlement Licensees

Litigation partners Catherine Nyarady and Crystal Parker’s latest intellectual property litigation column, “Marking Territory: Patent Settlement Licenses and Section 287 After ‘VDPP v. Volkswagen,’” appeared in the September 24 issue of the New York Law Journal. The authors discuss the Federal Circuit’s decision in VDPP, LLC v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., which held that patent owners and their licensees must properly mark products in order for patent owners to claim pre-suit damages, even where licensees are selling products pursuant to litigation settlements where they dispute infringement. The decision underscores that licensing agreements, including those entered as part of litigation settlements, should explicitly require product marking to avoid losing damages rights. Litigation partner Sutton Ansley and associate Thomas Macchio assisted in the preparation of this column.

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