Illinois Tool Works, Inc. & Subsidiaries - Page 8




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          against petitioner as the party in interest), finding that                  
          Champion had willfully infringed the ‘431 patent that was owned             
          by Lemelson.  The jury awarded damages of $4,647,905 for patent             
          infringement and $6,295,167 for prejudgment interest.  The                  
          District Court doubled the $4,647,905 damage award for patent               
          infringement due to the jury’s finding of willful infringement.             
          The finding of willfulness was based in part on the failure of              
          Champion (and on the failure of petitioner as the party in                  
          interest) to secure an authoritative opinion on whether the                 
          Trallfa robot violated the ‘431 patent until 2 months before                
          trial.                                                                      
               Petitioner appealed the judgment of the District Court to              
          the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  On July 13,             
          1992, the Court of Appeals affirmed without published opinion the           
          decision of the District Court, Lemelson v. Champion Spark Plug             
          Co., 975 F.2d 869 (Fed. Cir. 1992).  In 1992, after all appeals             
          were exhausted, petitioner paid the judgment, including                     
          accumulated interest, of $17,067,339.  The $17,067,339 judgment             
          included the damages and prejudgment interest totaling                      
          $15,590,977 that were awarded by the District Court, postjudgment           
          interest of $1,470,389.92, and court costs of $5,971.74.                    











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