Originally from American Review of International Arbitration - ARIA

Preview Page

I. INTRODUCTION

With the rise of intellectual property litigation in the United States --- a phenomenon that has also affected many foreign-based companies doing business in America --- a professional sub-specialty has arisen which plays a significant role in these conflicts. It is comprised of a cadre of experts who regularly assist litigating attorneys and the judiciary on various issues, including:

• analyzing technology, particularly relating to patent infringement, and the availability of non-infringing alternatives;
•projecting the financial dimensions of patent, trademark and copyright infringements, as well as the misappropriation of trade secrets and know-how, usually in the form of lost profits;
•providing opinions as to damages, frequently expressed as "reasonable royalties," that should be paid to the proprietors of such intellectual property rights as a result of such infringements and misappropriations; these exercises often involve simulating negotiations between the proprietor and accused infringers; and
• commenting about standard industry attitudes and practices that could provide better understanding of the disputes that inspired the legal proceedings.