미국 연방대법원 Halo 판결 이후 미국 특허법상 증액손해배상제도에 대한 지방법원 판결 경향과 우리 특허법에 대한 시사점

In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court had abolished the legal principles of enhanced damages under the U.S. patent law adopted by the CAFC in 2007 and adopted new legal principles through the Halo decision. The Halo decision can be evaluated as the product of the Supreme Court, which sought to promote industrial and economic development through innovation by lowering the criteria of willful infringement. After Supreme Court's Halo decision had been ruled, it is analyzed that the trial court has taken two methods in calculating enhanced damages based on the jury's verdict of willful infringement. The first method is to calculate enhanced damages based on the Read Factors adopted by the CAFC in 1992. The second method is to calculate enhanced damages by analyzing the circumstances presented in the relevant case. From July 9, 2019, enhanced damages under domestic patent law has been implemented. The district court decision since the Halo decision has two implications for the practical operation of enhanced damages under domestic patent law. First, when our courts establishes the concept of “willful infringement” as stipulated in Article 128(8) of domestic Patent Law, it is undesirable to set the concept too high to guarantee the effectiveness of the system. Second, in relation to the application of the eight factors stipulated in Article 128(9), our courts can calculate enhanced damages by analyzing the factors related to the circumstances presented in the case.