Monday, October 19, 2009

Court Approves Fee Award Based on Hourly Rate 3 Times Local Average for IP Practitioners Due to National Scope of Patent Litigation and Experience

In granting defendant's motion for attorneys' fees, the court found that defense counsel's hourly rates of $175 to $764.75 were reasonable. "[Defendant's] use of primary counsel . . . even at rates which well exceeded that of local counsel or [the average hourly rate of $245 for intellectual property practitioners in the Southeastern region according to the AIPLA bi-yearly Economic Survey from 2007] was justified. The attorneys were clearly specialists in the field of intellectual property – which is, by its very nature, national and not necessarily regional in scope – and, specifically, infringement suits, the art of litigating such a suit, and the background issues of patent prosecution. Further, [defense counsel] were clearly intimately aware of the [accused] product . . . as well as the history of these two parties. . . . Simply stated, it makes sense to proceed with such counsel, even at a higher rate than one might pay for local counsel, in a suit such as this."

iLOR, LLC v. Google, Inc., 5-07-cv-00109
(KYED October 15, 2009, Memorandum Opinion & Order) (Hood, S.J.)

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