Reversing the 2007 Federal Circuit Seagate opinion, the Supreme Court has relaxed the showing required for enhanced damages under Section 284. It its opinion, the Court found that the “objective recklessness test” required by Seagate in every case is unduly restrictive and may “exclude from discretionary punishment many of the most culpable offenders.” The Court went on to state that enhanced damages are “designed as a sanction for egregious infringement behavior” and should be awarded at the District Court’s discretion, as they have been for “nearly two centuries.
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