In Re Seagate Technology, LLC

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Miscellaneous Docket No. 830

IN RE SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC,

Petitioner.

Brian E. Ferguson and Raphael V. Lupo, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, of
Washington, DC, argued for petitioner. With them on the brief were Paul Devinsky and
Natalia V. Blinkova. Also on the brief were Terrence P. McMahon, Stephen J. Akerley,
Lucy H. Koh, and Mary B. Boyle, of Palo Alto, California.

Debra Brown Steinberg, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, of New York, New
York, argued for respondents, Convolve, Inc., and MIT. With her on the brief were James T.
Bailey, Tom M. Fini, and Kevin J. McNamee. Of counsel on the brief were Albert L. Jacobs,
Jr., Daniel A. Ladow, Adam B. Landa, and Richard E. Kurtz, Greenberg Traurig LLP, of New
York, New York.

Carter G. Phillips, Sidley Austin LLP, of Washington, DC, for amici curiae, Adobe
Systems Incorporated, et al. With him on the brief was Pankaj Venugopal. Also on the brief
were Constantine L. Trela, Jr. and Richard A. Cederoth, of Chicago, Illinois.

Karen J. Mathis, American Bar Association, of Chicago, Illinois, for amicus curiae,
American Bar Association. With her on the brief were William L. LaFuze and Michael A.
Valek, Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P, of Houston, Texas.

Matthew D. Powers, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, of Redwood Shores, California, for
amicus curiae, American Intellectual Property Law Association. With him on the brief was
Steven C. Carlson; and Amber H. Rovner, of Austin, Texas. Of counsel on the brief was
Judith M. Saffer, American Intellectual Property Law Association, of Arlington, Virginia.

Peter A. Sullivan, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, of New York, New York, for amicus
curiae, Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Kyle Bradford Fleming, Renner Otto Boisselle & Sklar, of Cleveland, Ohio, for amici
curiae, Avery Dennison Corporation, et al. With him on the brief were Jay R. Campbell and
Todd R. Tucker. Of counsel on the brief was Keith A. Newburry, Avery Dennison, Inc., of
Pasadena, California, for amicus curiae, Avery Dennison Corporation.
 Blair E. Taylor, Venable LLP, of Washington, DC, for amicus curiae, Bar Association
of the District of Columbia. With her on the brief was Peter J. Curtin. Of counsel on the
brief were Robert C. Bertin and Erin M. Dunston, Bingham McCutchen LLP, of Washington,
DC.

Hans Sauer, Biotechnology Industry Organization, of Washington, DC, for amicus
curiae, Biotechnology Industry Organization. Of counsel on the brief were Scott A.M.
Chambers, Patton Boggs LLP, of McLean, Virginia, and Brian P. Barrett, Eli Lilly and
Company, of Indianapolis, Indiana.

M. Kala Sarvaiya, SoCal IP Law Group LLP, of Westlake Village, California, for
amicus curiae, Conejo Valley Bar Association. With him on the brief were Steven C.
Sereboff and Mark S. Goldstein.

Alison M. Tucher, Morrison & Foerster LLP of San Francisco, California, for amici
curiae, Echostar Communications Corporation, et al. With her on the brief were Harold J.
McElhinny, Michael A. Jacobs, and Rachel Krevans. Also on the brief were Charles S.
Barquist and Bita Rahebi, of Los Angeles, California.

Joshua D. Sarnoff, Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic, Washington
College of Law, American University, of Washington, DC, for amici curiae, Electronic Frontier
Foundation, et al.

Stanley H. Lieberstein, St. Onge Steward Johnston & Reens LLC, of Stamford,
Connecticut, for amicus curiae, Federal Circuit Bar Association. With him on the brief was
Richard J. Basile.

Maxim H. Waldbaum, Schiff Hardin LLP, of New York, New York, for amicus curiae,
Fédération Internationale Des Conseils En Propriété Industrielle.

Mark A. Thurmon, Roy, Kiesel, Keegan & DeNicola, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for
amicus curiae, Houston Intellectual Property Law Association.

Gary M. Hoffman, Dickstein Shapiro LLP, of Washington, DC, for amicus curiae,
Intellectual Property Owners Association. With him on the brief were Kenneth W. Brothers
and Rachael Lea Leventhal. Also on the brief were Marc S. Adler and Richard F. Phillips,
Intellectual Property Owners Association, of Washington, DC. Of counsel was Herbert C
Wamsley.

Michael Barclay, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, of Palo Alto, California, for
amicus curiae, MediaTek, Inc. With him on the brief was Monica Mucchetti Eno.

Roderick R. McKelvie, Covington & Burling LLP, of Washington, DC, for amicus
curiae, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. With him on the brief was
Simon J. Frankel, of San Francisco, California.
 Patricia Smink Rogowski, Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP, of Wilmington, Delaware,
for amicus curiae, Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association.

Douglas E. Olson, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP, of San Diego, California,
for amicus curiae, San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association. Of counsel on the brief
was Vicki G. Norton, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, of San Diego, California.

Thomas S. Biemer, Dilworth Paxson LLP, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for amici
curiae, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, et al. With him on the brief
was Philip J. Foret.

Laurence H. Pretty, Law Office of Laurence H. Pretty, of Los Angeles, California, for
amicus curiae, TiVo, Inc.

Michael K. Kirschner, Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, P.S., of Seattle, Washington, for
amicus curiae, Washington State Patent Law Association. Of counsel on the brief were
Peter J. Knudsen, Washington State Patent Law Association, of Bothell, Washington, and
Pam Kohli Jacobson, Betts Patterson & Mines, P.S., of Seattle, Washington.

On Petition for Writ of Mandamus to the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York

Judge George B. Daniels
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Miscellaneous Docket No. 830

IN RE SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC,

Petitioner.
________________________

DECIDED: August 20, 2007
________________________

Before NEWMAN, MAYER, LOURIE, RADER, SCHALL, BRYSON, GAJARSA, LINN,
DYK, and PROST, Circuit Judges. *

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge MAYER, in which Circuit Judges NEWMAN,
LOURIE, RADER, SCHALL, BRYSON, GAJARSA, LINN, DYK, and PROST join.
Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge GAJARSA, in which Circuit Judge NEWMAN
joins. Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge NEWMAN.

MAYER, Circuit Judge.

Seagate Technology, LLC (“Seagate”) petitions for a writ of mandamus directing

the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to vacate its orders

compelling disclosure of materials and testimony that Seagate claims is covered by the

attorney-client privilege and work product protection. We ordered en banc review, and

now grant the petition. We overrule Underwater Devices Inc. v. Morrison-Knudsen Co.,

717 F.2d 1380 (1983), and we clarify the scope of the waiver of attorney-client privilege

*
Chief Judge Michel and Circuit Judge Moore took no part in the
consideration of the merits of this case.
and work product protection that results when an accused patent infringer asserts an

advice of counsel defense to a charge of willful infringement.

Background

Convolve, Inc. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (collectively

“Convolve”) sued Seagate on July 13, 2000, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos.

4,916,635 (“the ’635 patent”) and 5,638,267 (“the ’267 patent”). Subsequently, U.S.

Patent No. 6,314,473 (“the ’473 patent”) issued on November 6, 2001, and Convolve

amended its complaint on January 25, 2002, to assert infringement of the ’473 patent.

Convolve also alleged that Seagate willfully infringed the patents.

Prior to the lawsuit, Seagate retained Gerald Sekimura to provide an opinion

concerning Convolve’s patents, and he ultimately prepared three written opinions.

Seagate received the first opinion on July 24, 2000, shortly after the complaint was filed.

This opinion analyzed the ’635 and ’267 patents and concluded that many claims were

invalid and that Seagate’s products did not infringe. The opinion also considered

Convolve’s pending International Application WO 99/45535 (“the ’535 application”),

which recited technology similar to that disclosed in the yet-to-be-issued ’473 patent.

On December 29, 2000, Sekimura provided an updated opinion to Seagate. In addition

to his previous conclusions, this opinion concluded that the ’267 patent was possibly

unenforceable. Both opinions noted that not all of the patent claims had been reviewed,

and that the ’535 application required further analysis, which Sekimura recommended

postponing until a U.S. patent issued. On February 21, 2003, Seagate received a third

opinion concerning the validity and infringement of the by-then-issued ’473 patent.

06-M830 2
There is no dispute that Seagate’s opinion counsel operated separately and

independently of trial counsel at all times.

In early 2003, pursuant to the trial court’s scheduling order, Seagate notified

Convolve of its intent to rely on Sekimura’s three opinion letters in defending against

willful infringement, and it disclosed all of his work product and made him available for

deposition. Convolve then moved to compel discovery of any communications and

work product of Seagate’s other counsel, including its trial counsel. 1 On May 28, 2004,

the trial court concluded that Seagate waived the attorney-client privilege for all

communications between it and any counsel, including its trial attorneys and in-house

counsel, 2 concerning the subject matter of Sekimura’s opinions, i.e., infringement,

invalidity, and enforceability. It further determined that the waiver began when Seagate

first gained knowledge of the patents and would last until the alleged infringement

1. Specifically, Convolve sought to obtain the following:

internal communications on the same subjects as the formal
[Sekimura] opinions, communications between Seagate and
any attorneys on the same subjects as the formal opinions,
documents reflecting outside counsel’s opinion as to the
same subjects of the formal opinions, documents reviewed
or considered, or forming the basis for outside counsel’s
opinion as to the subject matter of the formal opinions, and
documents reflecting when oral communications concerning
the subjects of the opinions occurred between Compaq and
outside counsel.

Convolve, Inc. v. Compaq Comp. Corp., 224 F.R.D. 98, 101(S.D.N.Y. 2004).

2. We do not address the trial court’s discovery orders pertaining to
Seagate’s in-house counsel. The questions presented for en banc review do not
encompass this issue. See Kirkendall v. Dep’t of the Army, 479 F.3d 830, 835 n.2 (Fed.
Cir. 2007) (en banc) (“As a general rule, the scope of our en banc review is limited to
the issues set out in the en banc order.”). That is not remarkable because Seagate’s
petition sought relief only as to trial counsel. Moreover, the nature and role of in-house
counsel in this litigation is entirely unclear on the record before us. For the same
reason, we do not address the separate opinion of Judge Gajarsa, post.

06-M830 3
ceased. Accordingly, the court ordered production of any requested documents and

testimony concerning the subject matter of Sekimura’s opinions. It provided for in

camera review of documents relating to trial strategy, but said that any advice from trial

counsel that undermined the reasonableness of relying on Sekimura’s opinions would

warrant disclosure. The court also determined that protection of work product

communicated to Seagate was waived.

Based on these rulings, Convolve sought production of trial counsel opinions

relating to infringement, invalidity, and enforceability of the patents, and also noticed

depositions of Seagate’s trial counsel. After the trial court denied Seagate’s motion for

a stay and certification of an interlocutory appeal, Seagate petitioned for a writ of

mandamus. We stayed the discovery orders and, recognizing the functional

relationship between our willfulness jurisprudence and the practical dilemmas faced in

the areas of attorney-client privilege and work product protection, sua sponte ordered

en banc review of the petition. The en banc order set out the following questions:

1. Should a party’s assertion of the advice of counsel defense
to willful infringement extend waiver of the attorney-client
privilege to communications with that party’s trial counsel?
See In re EchoStar Commc’n Corp., 448 F.3d 1294 (Fed.
Cir. 2006).

2. What is the effect of any such waiver on work-product
immunity?

3. Given the impact of the statutory duty of care standard
announced in Underwater Devices, Inc. v. Morrison-Knudsen
Co., 717 F.2d 1380 (Fed. Cir. 1983), on the issue of waiver
of attorney-client privilege, should this court reconsider the
decision in Underwater Devices and the duty of care
standard itself?

In re Seagate Tech., LLC, Misc. Docket No. 830 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 26, 2007).

06-M830 4
 Mandamus

A party seeking a writ of mandamus bears the burden of proving that it has no

other means of attaining the relief desired, Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Court for the S. Dist. of

Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 309 (1989), and that the right to issuance of the writ is “clear and

indisputable,” Allied Chem. Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc., 449 U.S. 33, 35 (1980). In appropriate

cases, a writ of mandamus may issue “to prevent the wrongful exposure of privileged

communications.” In re Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 101 F.3d 1386, 1387 (Fed. Cir.

1996). Specifically, “mandamus review may be granted of discovery orders that turn on

claims of privilege when (1) there is raised an important issue of first impression, (2) the

privilege would be lost if review were denied until final judgment, and (3) immediate

resolution would avoid the development of doctrine that would undermine the privilege.”

Id. at 1388. This case meets these criteria.

We review the trial court’s determination of the scope of waiver for an abuse of

discretion. In re Echostar Commc’ns. Corp., 448 F.3d 1294, 1300 (Fed. Cir. 2006); In re

Pioneer Hi-Bred Int’l, Inc., 238 F.3d 1370, 1373 n.2 (Fed. Cir. 2001). Because willful

infringement and the scope of waiver accompanying the advice of counsel defense

invoke substantive patent law, we apply the law of this circuit. Echostar, 448 F.3d at

1298.

Discussion

Because patent infringement is a strict liability offense, the nature of the offense

is only relevant in determining whether enhanced damages are warranted. Although a

06-M830 5
trial court’s discretion in awarding enhanced damages has a long lineage in patent law, 3

the current statute, similar to its predecessors, is devoid of any standard for awarding

them. 4 Absent a statutory guide, we have held that an award of enhanced damages

requires a showing of willful infringement. Beatrice Foods Co. v. New England Printing

& Lithographing Co., 923 F.2d 1576, 1578 (Fed. Cir. 1991); see also Jurgens v. CBK,

Ltd., 80 F.3d 1566, 1570 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (holding that bad faith infringement, which is a

type of willful infringement, is required for enhanced damages). This well-established

standard accords with Supreme Court precedent. See Aro Mfg. Co. v. Convertible Top

Replacement Co., 377 U.S. 479, 508 (1961) (enhanced damages were available for

3. Trial courts have had statutory discretion to enhance damages for patent
infringement since 1836. 35 U.S.C. § 284 (2000); Act of Aug. 1, 1946, 60 Stat. 778;
Patent Act of 1870, ch. 230, § 59, 16 Stat. 198, 207 (1870) (providing that “the court
may enter judgment thereon for any sum above the amount found by the verdict as the
actual damages sustained, according to the circumstances of the case, not exceeding
three times the amount of such verdict, together with the costs”); Patent Act of 1836, ch.
357, 5 Stat. 117 (1836) (stating that “it shall be in the power of the court to render
judgment for any sum above the amount found by such verdict . . . not exceeding three
times the amount thereof, according to the circumstances of the case”).

4. The current statute, enacted in 1952 and codified at 35 U.S.C. § 284,
provides:

Upon finding for the claimant the court shall award the
claimant damages adequate to compensate for the
infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty
for the use made of the invention by the infringer, together
with interest and costs as fixed by the court.

When the damages are not found by a jury, the court shall
assess them. In either event the court may increase the
damages up to three times the amount found or assessed.
Increased damages under this paragraph shall not apply to
provisional rights under section 154(d) of this title.

The court may receive expert testimony as an aid to the
determination of damages or of what royalty would be
reasonable under the circumstances.

06-M830 6
willful or bad faith infringement); see also Dowling v. United States, 473 U.S. 207, 227

n.19 (1985) (enhanced damages are available for “willful infringement”); Seymour v.

McCormick, 57 U.S. 480, 489 (1853) (“wanton or malicious” injury could result in

exemplary damages). But, a finding of willfulness does not require an award of

enhanced damages; it merely permits it. See 35 U.S.C. § 284; Odetics, Inc. v. Storage

Tech. Corp., 185 F.3d 1259, 1274 (Fed. Cir. 1999); Jurgens, 80 F.3d at 1570.

This court fashioned a standard for evaluating willful infringement in Underwater

Devices Inc. v. Morrison-Knudsen Co., 717 F.2d 1380, 1389-90 (Fed. Cir. 1983):

“Where . . . a potential infringer has actual notice of another’s patent rights, he has an

affirmative duty to exercise due care to determine whether or not he is infringing. Such

an affirmative duty includes, inter alia, the duty to seek and obtain competent legal

advice from counsel before the initiation of any possible infringing activity.” (citations

omitted). This standard was announced shortly after the creation of the court, and at a

time “when widespread disregard of patent rights was undermining the national

innovation incentive.” Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahreuge GmbH v. Dana Corp.,

383 F.3d 1337, 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (en banc) (citing Advisory Committee on Industrial

Innovation Final Report, Dep’t of Commerce (Sep. 1979)). Indeed, in Underwater

Devices, an attorney had advised the infringer that “[c]ourts, in recent years, have—in

patent infringement cases—found [asserted patents] invalid in approximately 80% of the

cases,” and on that basis the attorney concluded that the patentee would not likely sue

for infringement. 717 F.2d at 1385. Over time, our cases evolved to evaluate

willfulness and its duty of due care under the totality of the circumstances, and we

enumerated factors informing the inquiry. E.g., Read Corp. v. Portec, Inc., 970 F.2d

06-M830 7
816, 826-27 (Fed. Cir. 1992); Rolls-Royce Ltd. v. GTE Valeron Corp., 800 F.2d 1101,

1110 (Fed. Cir. 1986).

In light of the duty of due care, accused willful infringers commonly assert an

advice of counsel defense. Under this defense, an accused willful infringer aims to

establish that due to reasonable reliance on advice from counsel, its continued accused

activities were done in good faith. Typically, counsel’s opinion concludes that the patent

is invalid, unenforceable, and/or not infringed. Although an infringer’s reliance on

favorable advice of counsel, or conversely his failure to proffer any favorable advice, is

not dispositive of the willfulness inquiry, it is crucial to the analysis. E.g., Electro Med.

Sys., S.A. v. Cooper Life Scis., Inc., 34 F.3d 1048, 1056 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (“Possession

of a favorable opinion of counsel is not essential to avoid a willfulness determination; it

is only one factor to be considered, albeit an important one.”).

Since Underwater Devices, we have recognized the practical concerns stemming

from our willfulness doctrine, particularly as related to the attorney-client privilege and

work product doctrine. For instance, Quantum Corp. v. Plus Development Corp., 940

F.2d 642, 643 (Fed. Cir. 1991), observed that “[p]roper resolution of the dilemma of an

accused infringer who must choose between the lawful assertion of the attorney-client

privilege and avoidance of a willfulness finding if infringement is found, is of great

importance not only to the parties but to the fundamental values sought to be preserved

by the attorney-client privilege.” We cautioned there that an accused infringer “should

not, without the trial court’s careful consideration, be forced to choose between waiving

the privilege in order to protect itself from a willfulness finding, in which case it may risk

prejudicing itself on the question of liability, and maintaining the privilege, in which case

06-M830 8
it may risk being found to be a willful infringer if liability is found.” Id. at 643-44. We

advised that in camera review and bifurcating trials in appropriate cases would alleviate

these concerns. Id. However, such procedures are often considered too onerous to be

regularly employed.

Recently, in Knorr-Bremse, we addressed another outgrowth of our willfulness

doctrine. Over the years, we had held that an accused infringer’s failure to produce

advice from counsel “would warrant the conclusion that it either obtained no advice of

counsel or did so and was advised that its [activities] would be an infringement of valid

U.S. Patents.” Knorr-Bremse, 383 F.3d at 1343 (quoting Kloster Speedsteel AB v.

Crucible Inc., 793 F.2d 1565, 1580 (Fed. Cir. 1986)). Recognizing that this inference

imposed “inappropriate burdens on the attorney-client relationship,” id., we held that

invoking the attorney-client privilege or work product protection does not give rise to an

adverse inference, id. at 1344-45. We further held that an accused infringer’s failure to

obtain legal advice does not give rise to an adverse inference with respect to willfulness.

Id. at 1345-46.

More recently, in Echostar we addressed the scope of waiver resulting from the

advice of counsel defense. First, we concluded that relying on in-house counsel’s

advice to refute a charge of willfulness triggers waiver of the attorney-client privilege.

Echostar, 448 F.3d at 1299. Second, we held that asserting the advice of counsel

defense waives work product protection and the attorney-client privilege for all

communications on the same subject matter, as well as any documents memorializing

attorney-client communications. Id. at 1299, 1302-03. However, we held that waiver

did not extend to work product that was not communicated to an accused infringer. Id.

06-M830 9
at 1303-04. Echostar did not consider waiver of the advice of counsel defense as it

relates to trial counsel.

In this case, we confront the willfulness scheme and its functional relationship to

the attorney-client privilege and work product protection. In light of Supreme Court

opinions since Underwater Devices and the practical concerns facing litigants under the

current regime, we take this opportunity to revisit our willfulness doctrine and to address

whether waiver resulting from advice of counsel and work product defenses extend to

trial counsel. See Knorr-Bremse, 383 F.3d at 1343-44.

I. Willful Infringement

The term willful is not unique to patent law, and it has a well-established meaning

in the civil context. For instance, our sister circuits have employed a recklessness

standard for enhancing statutory damages for copyright infringement. Under the

Copyright Act, a copyright owner can elect to receive statutory damages, and trial courts

have discretion to enhance the damages, up to a statutory maximum, for willful

infringement. 17 U.S.C. § 504(c). Although the statute does not define willful, it has

consistently been defined as including reckless behavior. See, e.g., Yurman Design,

Inc. v. PAJ, Inc., 262 F.3d 101, 112 (2d Cir. 2001) (“Willfulness in [the context of

statutory damages for copyright infringement] means that the defendant ‘recklessly

disregarded’ the possibility that ‘its conduct represented infringement.’”) (quoting Hamil

Am., Inc. v. GFI, Inc., 193 F.3d 92, 97 (2d Cir. 1999) (additional citations omitted));

Wildlife Express Corp. v. Carol Wright Sales, 18 F.3d 502, 511-12 (7th Cir. 1994)

(same); RCA/Ariola Int’l, Inc. v. Thomas & Grayston Co., 845 F.2d 773, 779 (8th Cir.

1988) (same); see also eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 126 S. Ct. 1837, 1840

06-M830 10
(2006) (noting with approval that its resolution of the permanent injunction standard in

the patent context created harmony with copyright law).

Just recently, the Supreme Court addressed the meaning of willfulness as a

statutory condition of civil liability for punitive damages. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Burr,

551 U.S. ___, Nos. 06-84, -100, slip op. (June 4, 2007). Safeco involved the Fair Credit

Reporting Act (“FCRA”), which imposes civil liability for failure to comply with its

requirements. Whereas an affected consumer can recover actual damages for

negligent violations of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681o(a), he can also recover punitive

damages for willful ones, 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a). Addressing the willfulness requirement

in this context, the Court concluded that the “standard civil usage” of “willful” includes

reckless behavior. Id., slip op. at 7; accord McLaughlin v. Richland Shoe Co., 486 U.S.

128, 132-33 (1988) (concluding that willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act

include reckless violations); Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U.S. 111, 128

(1985). Significantly, the Court said that this definition comports with the common law

usage, “which treated actions in ‘reckless disregard’ of the law as ‘willful’ violations.” Id.,

slip op. at 7 (citing W. Keeton, D. Dobbs, R. Keeton, & D. Owen, Prosser and Keeton on

Law of Torts § 34, p. 212 (5th ed. 1984)).

In contrast, the duty of care announced in Underwater Devices sets a lower

threshold for willful infringement that is more akin to negligence. This standard fails to

comport with the general understanding of willfulness in the civil context, Richland Shoe

Co., 486 U.S. at 133 (“The word ‘willful’ . . . is generally understood to refer to conduct

that is not merely negligent.”), and it allows for punitive damages in a manner

inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent, see, e.g., Safeco, slip op. at 6-7,18-19, 21

06-M830 11
n.20; Smith v Wade, 461 U.S. 30, 39-49 (1983). Accordingly, we overrule the standard

set out in Underwater Devices and hold that proof of willful infringement permitting

enhanced damages requires at least a showing of objective recklessness. Because we

abandon the affirmative duty of due care, we also reemphasize that there is no

affirmative obligation to obtain opinion of counsel.

We fully recognize that “the term [reckless] is not self-defining.” Farmer v.

Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 836 (1994). However, “[t]he civil law generally calls a person

reckless who acts . . . in the face of an unjustifiably high risk of harm that is either

known or so obvious that it should be known.” Id. (citing Prosser and Keeton § 34, pp.

213-14; Restatement (Second) of Torts § 500 (1965)). Accordingly, to establish willful

infringement, a patentee must show by clear and convincing evidence that the infringer

acted despite an objectively high likelihood that its actions constituted infringement of a

valid patent. See Safeco, slip op. at 19 (“It is [a] high risk of harm, objectively assessed,

that is the essence of recklessness at common law.”). The state of mind of the accused

infringer is not relevant to this objective inquiry. If this threshold objective standard is

satisfied, the patentee must also demonstrate that this objectively-defined risk

(determined by the record developed in the infringement proceeding) was either known

or so obvious that it should have been known to the accused infringer. We leave it to

future cases to further develop the application of this standard. 5

Finally, we reject the argument that revisiting our willfulness doctrine is either

improper or imprudent, as Convolve contends. The ultimate dispute in this case is the

proper scope of discovery. While it is true that the issue of willful infringement, or even

5. We would expect, as suggested by Judge Newman, post at 2, that the
standards of commerce would be among the factors a court might consider.

06-M830 12
infringement for that matter, has not been decided by the trial court, it is indisputable

that the proper legal standard for willful infringement informs the relevance of evidence

relating to that issue and, more importantly here, the proper scope of discovery. See

United States Nat'l Bank of Or. v. Indep. Ins. Agents of Am., Inc., 508 U.S. 439, 447

(1993) (“[A] court may consider an issue ‘antecedent to . . . and ultimately dispositive of’

the dispute before it, even an issue the parties fail to identify and brief.” (quoting Arcadia

v. Ohio Power Co., 498 U.S. 73, 77 (1990))); see also Fed. R. Civ. Pro. R. 26(b)

(limiting discovery to relevant, not necessarily admissible, information); accord Singleton

v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 121 (1976) (“The matter of what questions may be taken up and

resolved for the first time on appeal is one left primarily to the discretion of the courts of

appeals, to be exercised on the facts of individual cases.”); Forshey v. Principi, 284 F.3d

1335, 1355-59 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (en banc). Accordingly, addressing willfulness is neither

hypothetical nor advisory.

II. Attorney-Client Privilege

We turn now to the appropriate scope of waiver of the attorney-client privilege

resulting from an advice of counsel defense asserted in response to a charge of willful

infringement. Recognizing that it is “the oldest of the privileges for confidential

communications known to the common law,” we are guided by its purpose “to

encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients and

thereby promote broader public interests in the observance of law and administration of

justice.” Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 389 (1981). The privilege also

“recognizes that sound legal advice or advocacy serves public ends and that such

advice or advocacy depends upon the lawyer's being fully informed by the client.” Id.

06-M830 13
 The attorney-client privilege belongs to the client, who alone may waive it. E.g.,

Knorr-Bremse, 383 F.3d at 1345; Am. Standard, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc., 828 F.2d 734, 745

(Fed. Cir. 1987). “The widely applied standard for determining the scope of a waiver . . .

is that the waiver applies to all other communications relating to the same subject

matter.” Fort James Corp. v Solo Cup Corp., 412 F.3d 1340, 1349 (Fed. Cir. 2005).

This broad scope is grounded in principles of fairness and serves to prevent a party

from simultaneously using the privilege as both a sword and a shield; that is, it prevents

the inequitable result of a party disclosing favorable communications while asserting the

privilege as to less favorable ones. Echostar, 448 F.3d at 1301; Fort James, 412 F.3d

at 1349. Ultimately, however, “[t]here is no bright line test for determining what

constitutes the subject matter of a waiver, rather courts weigh the circumstances of the

disclosure, the nature of the legal advice sought and the prejudice to the parties of

permitting or prohibiting further disclosures.” Fort James, 412 F.3d at 1349-50.

In considering the scope of waiver resulting from the advice of counsel defense,

district courts have reached varying results with respect to trial counsel. Some

decisions have extended waiver to trial counsel, e.g., Informatica Corp. v. Bus. Objects

Data Integration, Inc., 454 F. Supp. 2d 957 (N.D. Cal. 2006), whereas others have

declined to do so, e.g., Collaboration Props., Inc. v. Polycom, Inc., 224 F.R.D. 473, 476

(N.D. Cal 2004); Ampex Corp. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48702 (D.

Del. July 17, 2006). Still others have taken a middle ground and extended waiver to trial

counsel only for communications contradicting or casting doubt on the opinions

asserted. E.g., Intex Recreation Corp. v. Team Worldwide Corp., 439 F. Supp. 2d 46

06-M830 14
(D.D.C. 2006); Beneficial Franchise Co., Inc. v. Bank One, N.A., 205 F.R.D. 212 (N.D.

Ill. 2001); Micron Separations, Inc. v. Pall Corp., 159 F.R.D. 361 (D. Mass. 1995).

Recognizing the value of a common approach and in light of the new willfulness

analysis set out above, we conclude that the significantly different functions of trial

counsel and opinion counsel advise against extending waiver to trial counsel. Whereas

opinion counsel serves to provide an objective assessment for making informed

business decisions, trial counsel focuses on litigation strategy and evaluates the most

successful manner of presenting a case to a judicial decision maker. And trial counsel

is engaged in an adversarial process. We previously recognized this distinction with

respect to our prior willfulness standard in Crystal Semiconductor Corp. v. TriTech

Microelectronics International, Inc., 246 F.3d 1336, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2001), which

concluded that “defenses prepared [by litigation counsel] for a trial are not equivalent to

the competent legal opinion of non-infringement or invalidity which qualify as ‘due care’

before undertaking any potentially infringing activity.” Because of the fundamental

difference between these types of legal advice, this situation does not present the

classic “sword and shield” concerns typically mandating broad subject matter waiver.

Therefore, fairness counsels against disclosing trial counsel’s communications on an

entire subject matter in response to an accused infringer’s reliance on opinion counsel’s

opinion to refute a willfulness allegation.

Moreover, the interests weighing against extending waiver to trial counsel are

compelling. The Supreme Court recognized the need to protect trial counsel’s thoughts

in Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 510-11 (1947):

[I]t is essential that a lawyer work with a certain degree of
privacy, free from unnecessary intrusion by opposing parties

06-M830 15
 and their counsel. Proper preparation of a client’s case
demands that he assemble information, sift what he
considers to be the relevant from the irrelevant facts,
prepare his legal theories and plan his strategy without
undue and needless interference. That is the historical and
the necessary way in which lawyers act within the framework
of our system of jurisprudence to promote justice and to
protect their clients’ interests.

The Court saw that allowing discovery of an attorney’s thoughts would result in

“[i]nefficiency, unfairness and sharp practices,” that “[t]he effect on the legal profession

would be demoralizing” and thus “the interests of the clients and the cause of justice

would be poorly served.” Id. at 511. Although Hickman concerned work product

protection, the attorney-client privilege maintained with trial counsel raises the same

concerns in patent litigation. In most cases, the demands of our adversarial system of

justice will far outweigh any benefits of extending waiver to trial counsel. See Jaffee v.

Redmond, 518 U.S. 1, 9 (1996) (“Exceptions from the general rule disfavoring

testimonial privileges may be justified, however, by a ‘public good transcending the

normally predominant principle of utilizing all rational means for ascertaining the truth.’”

(quoting Trammel, 445 U.S. 40, 50 (1980) (quoting Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S.

206 (1960) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting))) (additional internal quotation marks omitted).

Further outweighing any benefit of extending waiver to trial counsel is the

realization that in ordinary circumstances, willfulness will depend on an infringer’s

prelitigation conduct. It is certainly true that patent infringement is an ongoing offense

that can continue after litigation has commenced. However, when a complaint is filed, a

patentee must have a good faith basis for alleging willful infringement. Fed. R. Civ. Pro.

8, 11(b). So a willfulness claim asserted in the original complaint must necessarily be

grounded exclusively in the accused infringer’s pre-filing conduct. By contrast, when an

06-M830 16
accused infringer’s post-filing conduct is reckless, a patentee can move for a preliminary

injunction, which generally provides an adequate remedy for combating post-filing willful

infringement. See 35 U.S.C. § 283; Amazon.com, Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, Inc.,

239 F.3d 1343, 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2001). A patentee who does not attempt to stop an

accused infringer’s activities in this manner should not be allowed to accrue enhanced

damages based solely on the infringer’s post-filing conduct. Similarly, if a patentee

attempts to secure injunctive relief but fails, it is likely the infringement did not rise to the

level of recklessness.

We fully recognize that an accused infringer may avoid a preliminary injunction

by showing only a substantial question as to invalidity, as opposed to the higher clear

and convincing standard required to prevail on the merits. Amazon.com, 239 F.3d at

1359 (“Vulnerability is the issue at the preliminary injunction stage, while validity is the

issue at trial. The showing of a substantial question as to invalidity thus requires less

proof than the clear and convincing showing necessary to establish invalidity itself.”).

However, this lessened showing simply accords with the requirement that recklessness

must be shown to recover enhanced damages. A substantial question about invalidity

or infringement is likely sufficient not only to avoid a preliminary injunction, but also a

charge of willfulness based on post-filing conduct.

We also recognize that in some cases a patentee may be denied a preliminary

injunction despite establishing a likelihood of success on the merits, such as when the

remaining factors are considered and balanced. In that event, whether a willfulness

claim based on conduct occurring solely after litigation began is sustainable will depend

on the facts of each case.

06-M830 17
 Because willful infringement in the main must find its basis in prelitigation

conduct, communications of trial counsel have little, if any, relevance warranting their

disclosure, and this further supports generally shielding trial counsel from the waiver

stemming from an advice of counsel defense to willfulness. Here, the opinions of

Seagate’s opinion counsel, received after suit was commenced, appear to be of

similarly marginal value. Although the reasoning contained in those opinions ultimately

may preclude Seagate’s conduct from being considered reckless if infringement is

found, reliance on the opinions after litigation was commenced will likely be of little

significance.

In sum, we hold, as a general proposition, that asserting the advice of counsel

defense and disclosing opinions of opinion counsel do not constitute waiver of the

attorney-client privilege for communications with trial counsel. We do not purport to set

out an absolute rule. Instead, trial courts remain free to exercise their discretion in

unique circumstances to extend waiver to trial counsel, such as if a party or counsel

engages in chicanery. We believe this view comports with Supreme Court precedent,

which has made clear that rules concerning privileges are subject to review and

revision, when necessary. See Jaffee, 518 U.S. at 9 (noting that federal courts are “to

‘continue the evolutionary development of testimonial privileges.’” (quoting Trammel,

445 U.S. at 47)).

III. Work Product Protection

An advice of counsel defense asserted to refute a charge of willful infringement

may also implicate waiver of work product protection. Again, we are here confronted

06-M830 18
with whether this waiver extends to trial counsel’s work product. We hold that it does

not, absent exceptional circumstances.

The work product doctrine is “designed to balance the needs of the adversary

system: promotion of an attorney’s preparation in representing a client versus society’s

general interest in revealing all true and material facts to the resolution of a dispute.” In

re Martin Marietta Corp., 856 F.2d 619, 624 (4th Cir. 1988). Unlike the attorney-client

privilege, which provides absolute protection from disclosure, work product protection is

qualified and may be overcome by need and undue hardship. Fed. R. Civ. Pro.

26(b)(3). However, the level of need and hardship required for discovery depends on

whether the work product is factual, or the result of mental processes such as plans,

strategies, tactics, and impressions, whether memorialized in writing or not. Whereas

factual work product can be discovered solely upon a showing of substantial need and

undue hardship, mental process work product is afforded even greater, nearly absolute,

protection. See id.; Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 400 (1981); Holmgren v.

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins., 976 F.2d 573, 577 (9th Cir. 1992) (holding that work product

“may be discovered and admitted when mental impressions are at issue in a case and

the need for the material is compelling”); see also Office of Thrift Supervision v. Vinson

& Elkins, LLP, 124 F.3d 1304, 1307 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (“virtually undiscoverable”). But

see Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Murray Sheet Metal Co., 967 F.2d 980, 984 (4th Cir.

1992) (“‘absolutely’ immune from discovery”).

Like the attorney-client privilege, however, work product protection may be

waived. United States v. Nobles, 422 U.S. 225, 239 (1975). Here, the same rationale

generally limiting waiver of the attorney-client privilege with trial counsel applies with

06-M830 19
even greater force to so limiting work product waiver because of the nature of the work

product doctrine. Protecting lawyers from broad subject matter of work product

disclosure “strengthens the adversary process, and . . . may ultimately and ideally

further the search for the truth.” Martin Marietta, 856 F.2d at 626; accord Echostar, 448

F.3d at 1301 (“[W]ork-product immunity . . . promotes a fair and efficient adversarial

system . . . .”); Coastal States Gas Corp. v. Dep't of Energy, 617 F.2d 854, 864 (D.C.

Cir. 1980) (“The purpose of the privilege, however, is not to protect any interest of the

attorney . . . but to protect the adversary trial process itself. It is believed that the

integrity of our system would suffer if adversaries were entitled to probe each other's

thoughts and plans concerning the case.”). In addition, trial counsel’s mental

processes, which fall within Convolve’s discovery requests, enjoy the utmost protection

from disclosure; a scope of waiver commensurate with the nature of such heightened

protection is appropriate. See Martin Marietta, 856 F.2d at 625-26.

The Supreme Court has approved of narrowly restricting the scope of work

product waiver. In United States v. Nobles, a criminal case, an accused armed robber

presented the testimony of an investigator in an attempt to discredit the two

eyewitnesses. When they testified for the prosecution, the defense attorney relied on

the investigator’s report in cross-examining the eyewitnesses. 422 U.S. at 227. After

the prosecution rested, the defense attempted to call the investigator to testify. The trial

court, however, ruled that if the investigator testified, his affirmative testimony would

mandate disclosure of the portions of his report relating to his testimony. Id. at 229.

The Supreme Court agreed that the investigator’s affirmative testimony waived work

product protection, but it approvingly noted the “quite limited” scope of waiver imposed

06-M830 20
by the trial court and its refusal to allow a general “fishing expedition” into the defense

files or even the investigator’s report. Id. at 239-40. Similarly, Convolve has been

granted access to the materials relating to Seagate’s opinion counsel’s opinion, and he

was made available for deposition. The extent of this waiver accords with the principles

and spirit of Nobles.

Accordingly, we hold that, as a general proposition, relying on opinion counsel’s

work product does not waive work product immunity with respect to trial counsel. Again,

we leave open the possibility that situations may arise in which waiver may be extended

to trial counsel, such as if a patentee or his counsel engages in chicanery. And, of

course, the general principles of work product protection remain in force, so that a party

may obtain discovery of work product absent waiver upon a sufficient showing of need

and hardship, bearing in mind that a higher burden must be met to obtain that pertaining

to mental processes. See Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 26(b)(3).

Finally, the work product doctrine was partially codified in Rule 26(b)(3) of the

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which applies work product protection to “documents

and tangible things.” Courts continue to apply Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, to

“nontangible” work product. See, e.g., In re Cendant Corp. Sec. Litig., 343 F.3d 658,

662-63 (3d Cir. 2003); United States v. One Tract of Real Property, 95 F.3d 422, 428

n.10 (6th Cir. 1996). This is relevant here because Convolve sought to depose

Seagate’s trial counsel. We agree that work product protection remains available to

“nontangible” work product under Hickman. Otherwise, attorneys’ files would be

protected from discovery, but attorneys themselves would have no work product

objection to depositions.

06-M830 21
 Conclusion

Accordingly, Seagate’s petition for a writ of mandamus is granted, and the district

court will reconsider its discovery orders in light of this opinion.

06-M830 22
 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Miscellaneous Docket No. 830

IN RE SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC,

Petitioner.

GAJARSA, Circuit Judge, concurring, with whom Circuit Judge NEWMAN joins.

I agree with the court’s decision to grant the writ of mandamus; however, I write

separately to express my belief that the court should take the opportunity to eliminate

the grafting of willfulness onto section 284. As the court’s opinion points out, although

the enhanced damages clause of that section “is devoid of any standard for awarding

[such damages],” ante at 6, this court has nevertheless read a willfulness standard into

the statute, see, e.g., Beatrice Foods Co. v. New England Printing & Lithographing Co.,

923 F.2d 1576, 1578 (Fed. Cir. 1991); Leesona Corp. v. United States, 599 F.2d 958,

969 (Ct. Cl. 1979). Because the language of the statute unambiguously omits any such

requirement, see 35 U.S.C. § 284 (“[T]he court may increase the damages up to three

times the amount found or assessed.”), and because there is no principled reason for

continuing to engraft a willfulness requirement onto section 284, I believe we should

adhere to the plain meaning of the statute and leave the discretion to enhance damages

in the capable hands of the district courts. Accordingly, I agree that Underwater

Devices, Inc. v. Morrison-Knudsen Co., 717 F.2d 1380 (Fed. Cir. 1983), should be
overruled and the affirmative duty of care eliminated. I would also take the opportunity

to overrule the Beatrice Foods line of cases to the extent those cases engraft willfulness

onto the statute. I would vacate the district court’s order and remand for the court to

reconsider its ruling in light of the clear and unambiguous language of section 284.

In order to reach this conclusion that enhanced damages should not be limited by

willfulness, it is appropriate to place the issue of enhanced damages in the proper

historical perspective. Treble damages were first introduced into American patent law

by the Act of February 21, 1793, which allowed the patentee to recover, in an action at

law, “a sum, that shall be at least equal to three times the price, for which the patentee

has usually sold or licensed to other persons, the use of [the invention].” Act of Feb. 21,

1793, ch. 11, § 5, 1 Stat. 318, 322. The Act of April 17, 1800, allowed the patentee to

recover, also in an action at law, “a sum equal to three times the actual damage

sustained by [the] patentee.” Act of Apr. 17, 1800, ch. 25, § 3, 2 Stat. 37, 38. Notably,

however, neither of these acts permitted the courts discretion in assessing treble

damages.

Such discretion was not conferred upon the courts until the Act of July 4, 1836,

which provided that “it shall be in the power of the court to render judgment for any sum

above the amount found by [the] verdict as the actual damages sustained by the

plaintiff, not exceeding three times the amount thereof, according to the circumstances

of the case.” Act of July 4, 1836, ch. 357, § 14, 5 Stat. 117, 123 (emphasis added).

Nothing in the phrase “according to the circumstances of the case” implies that the

district court’s discretion to award enhanced damages is contingent upon a finding of

willfulness. Indeed, one deficiency identified in pre-1836 patent law was the

06-M830 2
insufficiency of damages in compensating deserving patentees. Sen. John Ruggles,

S. Report Accompanying Senate Bill No. 239, at 6 (Apr. 28, 1836) (explaining that pre-

1836 patent law “offer[ed] an inadequate remedy for the [infringement] injury, by giving

an action of damages”). At the same time, pre-1836 patent law was criticized for its

limited standards regarding the granting of patents, which led to abusive wielding of the

treble-damages club by undeserving patentees. See id. at 3-4 (describing the

“reprehensible” practice of patentees in possession of “patents for what has been long

in public use, and what every one has therefore a right to use,” who, “being armed with

the apparent authority of the Government, having the sanction of its highest officers the

seal of state, scour[] the country, and by threats of prosecution, compel[] those who are

found using the thing patented, to pay the patent price or commutation tribute”). It

would appear, then, that the 1836 Act was intended to control not only the grant of

unwarranted patents, but also to restore the flexibility of remedy that is the traditional

judicial province.

Moreover, due to the division of law and equity, a patentee having no basis for

invoking the equitable jurisdiction of a federal court was limited to legal remedies in an

action on the case. Though the court’s equitable powers—such as the power to grant

discovery into a defendant’s affairs in order to determine damages—might still be

accessible to the patentee, access to such powers was not guaranteed. See Sinclair

Refining Co. v. Jenkins Petroleum Process Co., 289 U.S. 689, 696 (1933) (“To hold that

the plaintiff in an action at law may have discovery of damages is not to say that the

remedy will be granted as a matter of course, or that protection will not be given to his

adversary against impertinent intrusion.”). Even if discovery was granted in an action

06-M830 3
on the case, the patentee had no basis for collecting the infringer’s profits through an

equitable action for an injunction and accounting. See Root v. Ry., 105 U.S. 189, 215-

216 (1882). As such, actual damages provable at law—though not “inadequate” in the

equitable sense—could nevertheless be less than sufficient to compensate the

patentee. In such a case, a discretionary enhancement of damages would be

appropriate for entirely remedial reasons, irrespective of the defendant’s state of mind.

Apart from the difficulties created by the old law and equity division, a district

court might decide to enhance a patentee’s damages to overcome other obstacles. For

example, assume that a substantial portion of a defendant’s sales data is inadvertently

but irretrievably lost prior to discovery. In such a case, a successful plaintiff, through no

fault of its own, might be unable to prove the real extent of damage caused by the

infringement. It would be entirely reasonable, in my judgment, for the district court to

exercise its statutory discretion and enhance the damage award by some measure.

Another foreseeable situation is one in which a plaintiff, having successfully secured a

damage award for past infringement, moves for a permanent injunction. However, in

order to avoid manifest injustice, a multiplicity of suits, etc., the district court might

reasonably determine that monetary relief in the form of enhanced damages is more

appropriate than an injunction. See, e.g., City of Harrisonville v. W. S. Dickey Clay Mfg.

Co., 289 U.S. 334 (1933); New York City v. Pine, 185 U.S. 93 (1902); Restatement

(Second) of Torts § 951 (1979); see also eBay Inc. v. MercExchange L.L.C., 547 U.S.

___, 126 S. Ct. 1837, 1839 (2006) (“The decision to grant or deny permanent injunctive

relief is an act of equitable discretion by the district court, reviewable on appeal for

abuse of discretion.”). Yet, by reading a willfulness requirement into the statute, we are

06-M830 4
unnecessarily confining enhanced damages to a subset of cases where punitive awards

are appropriate, and thereby restricting district courts from exercising legitimate,

remedial options of the type discussed above.

In spite of our seemingly unequivocal holding in cases like Beatrice Foods, our

case law has not been entirely consistent with respect to enhanced damages. We have

recognized a remedial aspect of such damages in at least three precedential opinions.

See King Instrs. Corp. v. Perego, 65 F.3d 941, 951 n.6 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (“The problem

of inadequate compensation when damages are based on a reasonable royalty has

been expressly recognized in several cases. . . . The solutions suggested include

awards of treble damages, attorney fees and prejudgment interest, . . . , and

discretionary awards of greater than a reasonable royalty[.] . . . Such discretionary

increases may be appropriate where plaintiffs cannot prove direct and foreseeable

damages in the form of lost profits.” (emphasis added)); Rite-Hite Corp. v. Kelley Co.,

819 F.2d 1120, 1126 (Fed. Cir. 1987) (“Whether or not ‘willfulness’ is found, the court

has authority to consider the degree of culpability of the tortfeasor. ‘The measure of

damages, as indeed the assessment of attorney fees, provides an opportunity for the

trial court to balance equitable concerns as it determines whether and how to

recompense the successful litigant.’” (quoting S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. v. Carter-

Wallace, Inc., 781 F.2d 198, 201 (Fed. Cir. 1986)) (emphasis added)); Stickle v.

Heublein, Inc., 716 F.2d 1550, 1563 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (“As a final matter we would add

that the trial court may award an amount of damages greater than a reasonable royalty

so that the award is ‘adequate to compensate for the infringement.’ . . . Such an

increase, which may be stated by the trial court either as a reasonable royalty for an

06-M830 5
infringer (as in Panduit) or as an increase in the reasonable royalty determined by the

court, is left to its sound discretion.” (emphasis altered)). 1

Our occasional recognition of this remedial aspect of section 284 is not surprising

because it is practically dictated by the Supreme Court’s reasoning in General Motors

Corp. v. Devex Corp., 461 U.S. 648 (1983) (“GM” or “Devex”), which deals with the

standard for awarding interest under the very same statute. Prior to 1946, the patent

laws of the United States did not contain a provision relating to any interest due to a

prevailing patentee in a suit for infringement; however, interest was nevertheless

awarded under the common law rule—referred to as the Duplate standard—that, in the

absence of bad faith on the part of the defendant, interest did not accrue on

unliquidated damages. See, e.g., Duplate Corp. v. Triplex Safety Glass Co. of N. Am.

298 U.S. 448, 459 (1936). In 1946, however, Congress statutorily made available to

1
And in one nonprecedential opinion, see Fed. Cir. R. 37.1(d), this court
actually remanded a case for the district court to consider increasing damages for
remedial reasons:

As to the claim for increased damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284,
contrary to the district court's holding, the authority to increase damages is
not restricted to exceptional circumstances. Damages should be
increased where necessary to afford full compensation for infringement.
See General Motors Corp. v. Devex Corp., [461 U.S. 648 (1983)]. Under
the circumstances of this case and considering that there will be a trial on
damages, we remand on the question of increased damages so that the
district court can take the evidence at trial on damages into account in
determining that question.

Sherman Indus., Inc. v. Proto-Vest, Inc., 732 F.2d 168 (Fed. Cir. 1984) (table)
(emphasis added); see also Code-Alarm, Inc. v. Electromotive Techs. Corp., Nos. 96-
1368, 96-1369, and 96-1385, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 13031, at *4 (Fed. Cir. 1997)
(nonprecedential) (“In cases where awarding damages based on a reasonable royalty
does not adequately compensate the patentee, it is also within the district court's
discretion to award damages that exceed a reasonable royalty.”); Aptargroup, Inc. v.
Summit Packaging Sys., Nos. 97-1475 and 97-1484, 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 28047, at
*24-*25 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (nonprecedential) (same).

06-M830 6
prevailing patentees “interest, as may be fixed by the court.” Act of Aug. 1, 1946, Pub.

L. No. 79-587, 60 Stat. 778. In 1952, this provision underwent minor, non-substantive

modification, to become today’s statute, i.e., 35 U.S.C. § 284 (providing to prevailing

patentees “interest . . . as fixed by the court”). Act of July 19, 1952, Pub. L. No. 82-593,

66 Stat. 792, 813. As is evident from the plain language of both the 1946 and the 1952

Acts, Congress did not answer with these enactments the question of whether the

Duplate standard should apply to interest awards under these statutory provisions.

That question was squarely presented in GM, and the Supreme Court held that

no bad-faith standard should be read into section 284. Id. at 653 (“On the face of § 284,

a court's authority to award interest is not restricted to exceptional circumstances, and

there is no warrant for imposing such a limitation. When Congress wished to limit an

element of recovery in a patent infringement action, it said so explicitly. With respect to

attorney’s fees, Congress expressly provided that a court could award such fees to a

prevailing party only ‘in exceptional cases.’ 35 U. S. C. § 285. The power to award

interest was not similarly restricted.”). The Court also observed that “[t]he standard

governing the award of prejudgment interest under § 284 should be consistent with

Congress’ overriding purpose of affording patent owners complete compensation.” Id.

at 655. Thus, because “an award of prejudgment interest is necessary to ensure that

the patent owner is placed in as good a position as he would have been in had the

infringer entered into a reasonable royalty agreement,” id. at 655, the Court held that

“prejudgment interest should be awarded under § 284 absent some justification for

withholding such an award,” id. at 657.

06-M830 7
 While the issue in GM was “[t]he standard governing the award of prejudgment

interest under § 284,” id. at 655, the rationale underlying the GM holding applies with

equal force to enhanced damages, and it is in direct dialectic tension with some of this

court’s case law concerning the standard governing the award of such damages. The

statutory-language argument applies with equal force to both interest and enhanced

damages; just as prejudgment interest may be awarded in other than “exceptional

cases” under the plain language of the statute, so too may enhanced damages.

Moreover, discretionary use of enhanced damages to achieve remedial goals is likewise

“consistent with Congress’ overriding purpose of affording patent owners complete

compensation.” Id.

The fact that the interest provision of section 284 was previously only a creature

of common law does not diminish the applicability of GM to the provision for enhanced

damages. In GM, the Court explained:

There is no basis for inferring that Congress’ adoption of the provision
concerning interest merely incorporated the Duplate standard. This is not
a case in which Congress has reenacted statutory language that the
courts had interpreted in a particular way. In such a situation, it may well
be appropriate to infer that Congress intended to adopt the established
judicial interpretation. See, e. g., Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston, 459
U.S. 375, 384-386 (1983); Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575, 580-581
(1978). In this case, however, the predecessor statute did not contain any
reference to interest, and the 1946 amendments specifically added a
provision concerning interest in patent infringement actions. We cannot
agree with petitioner that the only significance of Congress’ express
provision for the award of interest was the incorporation of a common-law
standard that developed in the absence of any specific provision
concerning interest.

GM, 461 U.S. at 653-54. But unlike prejudgment interest, a provision for enhanced

damages has been a part of nearly every patent act since 1790. Therefore, we can

reasonably and logically conclude that the enhanced damages permitted by section 284

06-M830 8
are not inherently exempt from the inference that Congress was merely reenacting

consistently-interpreted statutory language with the 1952 Act.

Nevertheless, the inference is not warranted in this case because pre-1952

interpretations of the enhanced damages statutes have at times explicitly recognized a

remedial aspect. See, e.g., Clark v. Wooster, 119 U.S. 322, 326 (1886) (“It is a general

rule in patent causes, that established license fees are the best measure of damages

that can be used. There may be damages beyond this, such as the expense and

trouble the plaintiff has been put to by the defendant; and any special inconvenience he

has suffered from the wrongful acts of the defendant; but these are more properly the

subjects of allowance by the court, under the authority given to it to increase the

damages.”); Birdsall v. Coolidge, 93 U.S. 64, 69-70 (1876) (explaining that the provision

making treble damages available in equity helps ameliorate the “manifest injustice . . .

done to the complainant in equity suits [under prior law], by withholding from him a just

compensation for the injury he sustained by the unlawful invasion of his exclusive

rights”).

It is also noted that the Supreme Court cases cited in this court’s opinion—only

one of which pre-dates the 1952 Act—do not hold that a finding of willfulness is

necessary to support an award of enhanced damages. See ante at 6-7. At most, those

cases merely stand for the uncontroversial proposition that a finding of willfulness is

sufficient to support an award of enhanced damages. See Dowling v. United States,

473 U.S. 207, 227 (1985) (“Despite its undoubted power to do so, however, Congress

has not provided criminal penalties for distribution of goods infringing valid patents. . . .

[n.19] Congress instead has relied on provisions affording patent owners a civil cause of

06-M830 9
action. 35 U. S. C. §§ 281-294. Among the available remedies are treble damages for

willful infringement.”); Aro Mfg. Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co., 377 U.S. 476,

508 (1964) (explaining that the patentee “could in a case of willful or bad-faith

infringement recover punitive or ‘increased’ damages under the statute's trebling

provision”); Seymour v. McCormick, 57 U.S. 480, 489 (1854) (“The power to inflict

vindictive or punitive damages is committed to the discretion and judgment of the court

within the limit of trebling the actual damages found by the jury.”). Those cases cannot

be interpreted to mean that enhanced damages are limited to a finding of willfulness.

To the extent this court relies on interpretations of other statutes to support its

reading of 35 U.S.C. § 284, those statutes fail to ground the postulate. For example,

the court analogizes section 284 to 17 U.S.C. § 504(c) of the Copyright Act in order to

demonstrate that a showing of recklessness is required to support an award of

enhanced damages. Ante at 10-11. That comparison is unconvincing, however,

because section 504(c) actually uses the word “willfully” to describe the threshold state

of mind necessary to justify an award of enhanced damages, whereas section 284 does

not. The court draws a similar analogy between section 284 and 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)

of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the latter having recently been interpreted by

the Supreme Court to require a showing of objective recklessness to support enhanced

damages. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., Inc. v. Burr, 551 U.S. ___, 127 S. Ct. 2201 (2007).

By contrasting the language of 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)—which uses the word “willfully” to

describe the threshold state of mind necessary to justify an award of enhanced

damages under the FCRA—with the language of 15 U.S.C. § 1681o(a)—which uses the

word “negligent” to describe the threshold state of mind necessary to justify an award of

06-M830 10
actual damages under the FCRA—this court concludes that the negligence-like state of

mind established by Underwater Devices as necessary and generally sufficient to justify

an award of enhanced damages under section 284 of the Patent Act is inconsistent with

the objective recklessness standard of Safeco. Ante at 11-12. As with the copyright

statute, the problem with this court’s logic is that it depends on the assumption that

section 284 also uses the word “willfully,” which of course it does not. This assumption,

unwarranted for several reasons already discussed, is additionally discordant with the

Supreme Court’s emphasis in Safeco on adherence to statutory language. See 127 S.

Ct. at 2209 (relying on the “interpretive assumption that Congress knows how we

construe statutes and expects us to run true to form”); cf. eBay, Inc. v. Mercexchange,

L.L.C., 547 U.S. ___, 126 S. Ct. 1837, 1839 (2006) (“Nothing in the Patent Act indicates

that Congress intended . . . a departure [from the traditions of equity in granting

injunctions]. To the contrary, the Patent Act expressly provides that injunctions ‘may’

issue ‘in accordance with the principles of equity.’”). We should take this opportunity to

bring patent law regarding damages into the mainstream of the general law and avoid

the necessity of carving a special niche for the realm of patent law.

It is also important to note several other contexts in which enhanced damages

allowed by statute have a remedial purpose. See, e.g., 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a)

(discretionary award of up to three times actual damages “shall constitute compensation

and not a penalty”); Cook County v. United States, 538 U.S. 119, 130 (2003) (“To begin

with it is important to realize that treble damages have a compensatory side, serving

remedial purposes in addition to punitive objectives. . . . While the tipping point

between pay-back and punishment defies general formulation, being dependent on the

06-M830 11
workings of a particular statute and the course of particular litigation, the facts about the

FCA show that the damages multiplier has compensatory traits along with the

punitive.”); Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Associates, Inc., 483 U.S. 143, 151

(1987) (“Both RICO and the Clayton Act are designed to remedy economic injury by

providing for the recovery of treble damages, costs, and attorney’s fees.”); Am. Soc'y of

Mech. Eng'rs v. Hydrolevel Corp., 456 U.S. 556, 575 (1982) (“It is true that antitrust

treble damages were designed in part to punish past violations of the antitrust laws. . . .

But treble damages were also designed to deter future antitrust violations. ...

Moreover, the antitrust private action was created primarily as a remedy for the victims

of antitrust violations.”); Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat, Inc., 429 U.S. 477,

485-86 (1977) (“Section 4 [of the Clayton Act], in contrast, is in essence a remedial

provision. It provides treble damages to ‘[a]ny person who shall be injured in his

business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws . . . .’ Of

course, treble damages also play an important role in penalizing wrongdoers and

deterring wrongdoing, as we also have frequently observed. . . . It nevertheless is true

that the treble-damages provision, which makes awards available only to injured parties,

and measures the awards by a multiple of the injury actually proved, is designed

primarily as a remedy.”).

Simply put, interpretations of the precursors to section 284, of section 284 itself,

and of any other enhanced damages statutes give rise to no inference that Congress

was merely reenacting consistently-interpreted statutory language with the 1952 Act.

That inconsistency seems to abound in the case law is nothing new. According to

Professor Chisum, “[w]hether the purpose of an increased damage award should be

06-M830 12
exemplary (i.e. to punish and deter flagrant acts of patent infringement) or

compensatory (i.e. to compensate the patent owner for immeasurable expenses and

losses) is a longstanding controversy in the law. Perhaps the best view is that

increased awards combine both purposes.” 7 Donald S. Chisum, Chisum on Patents §

20.03[4][b][iii] (2002). 2 Thus, while some courts have held that a finding of willfulness is

necessary to support an award of enhanced damages, other courts have taken a

remedial view of the statute. See, e.g., Saturn Mfg., Inc. v. Williams Patent Crusher &

Pulverizer Co., 713 F.2d 1347, 1358 (8th Cir. 1983) (“It appears that the district court

imposed a higher standard, the exceptional circumstances standard, in denying

increased damages. Although an award of increased damages is discretionary under

the statute and the decided cases, nonetheless in view of the analysis in Devex that

section 284 does not incorporate the exceptional circumstances standard of section

285, . . . we feel it appropriate to remand this issue to the district court for further

consideration in light of Devex.”); 3 Trio Process Corp. v. L. Goldstein’s Sons, Inc., 638

F.2d 661, 663 (3d Cir. 1981) (“Because it is often difficult in patent litigation to measure

with mathematical precision a patentee’s damages, the enhancement provision of the

2
Without citation, Chisum summarily asserts that “[t]he power to increase is
triggered only when the infringer's conduct warrants an exemplary award.” 7 Chisum
§ 20.03[4][b][iii]. No Supreme Court case supports this proposition. I also discern no
principled basis for inferring such a proposition. If Congress was concerned with
ensuring that patentees are fully compensated for infringement, there would seem to be
no reason to condition full compensation upon a showing of culpable conduct.
3
In Saturn, the district court appears to have drawn a distinction between
willfulness and “exceptional circumstances,” holding the latter to require proof of more
egregious behavior. The Eighth Circuit reversed, instructing the district court that its
finding of willfulness could support an award of enhanced damages. Importantly,
however, the Eighth Circuit did not hold that willfulness is required to make such an
award.

06-M830 13
statute is designed to permit, inter alia, adequate compensation for an infringement

where strict legal rules would not afford it.”). 4

To be sure, the majority rule has been that an award of enhanced damages

pursuant to section 284 requires a finding of willfulness. 7 Chisum § 20.03[4][b][iii].

However, the existence of this “longstanding controversy” adequately demonstrates that

Congress was not merely reenacting consistently-interpreted statutory language with

the 1952 Act so as to justify the inference suggested in GM. Therefore, I am of the

judgment that this court should not continue to read a willfulness requirement into

section 284, to support the enhancement of damages. That said, willfulness remains a

relevant consideration under section 284. Thus, to the extent Convolve seeks to

demonstrate that Seagate is willfully infringing its patents, I agree with the court that it is

appropriate to follow the Supreme Court’s statutory interpretation in Safeco. See 127 S.

Ct at 2209 (explaining that its interpretation of “willfully” adheres to “the general rule that

a common law term in a statute comes with a common law meaning”). Under my

reading of Safeco, which I believe is consistent with that of this court, Convolve must

show, by clear and convincing evidence, (1) that Seagate’s theory of

noninfringement/invalidity, was not only incorrect, but was objectively unreasonable,

and (2) that Seagate ran a risk of infringing Convolve’s patents substantially greater

than the risk associated with a theory of noninfringement/invalidity that was merely

careless. See id. at 2215 (holding that a defendant “does not act in reckless disregard

of [a statute] unless the action is not only a violation under a reasonable reading of the

4
These cases, while not binding on this court, are persuasive authority
nonetheless.

06-M830 14
statute's terms, but shows that the [defendant] ran a risk of violating the law

substantially greater than the risk associated with a reading that was merely careless”).

If Convolve is unable to show the former, Seagate cannot be found to have

willfully infringed, regardless of any evidence of its subjective beliefs. See id. at 2216

n.20 (“To the extent that [the plaintiffs] argue that evidence of subjective bad faith can

support a willfulness finding even when the [defendant’s] reading of the statute is

objectively reasonable, their argument is unsound.”); see also id. at 2215 (explaining

that “there is no need to pinpoint the negligence/recklessness line [where the

defendant’s] reading of the statute, albeit erroneous, was not objectively

unreasonable”). Thus, Seagate’s subjective beliefs may become relevant only if

Convolve successfully makes this showing of objective unreasonableness. See id. at

2216 n.20 (leaving open the possibility that “good-faith reliance on legal advice should

render [defendants] immune to claims [of willfulness]”). Because no finding of objective

unreasonableness has yet been made in this case, the issues of attorney-client privilege

and work product may not even need to be confronted. As such, it is premature to

comment on the scope of the waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work-product

protection.

06-M830 15
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Miscellaneous Docket No. 830

IN RE SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC,

Petitioner.

NEWMAN, Circuit Judge, concurring.

I join the court's holding that a voluntary waiver of the attorney-client privilege and

work product protection as to patent opinion counsel is not a waiver of any privilege or

protection as to litigation counsel. I also agree with the separate decision to overrule

Underwater Devices, but only because that case has been misapplied, in the extremis of

high-stakes litigation, to mean that "due care" requires more than the reasonable care that

a responsible enterprise gives to the property of others. The obligation to obey the law is

not diminished when the property is "intellectual." However, experience, and the

exhortations of the amici curiae, have persuaded me that we should reduce the

opportunities for abusive gamesmanship that the "due care" standard apparently has

facilitated.

The thrust of Underwater Devices was that patent property should receive the same

respect that the law imposes on all property. Industrial innovation would falter without the
order that patent property contributes to the complexities of investment in technologic R&D

and commercialization in a competitive marketplace. The loser would be not only the

public, but also the nation's economic vigor. So I am sympathetic when told of the

disproportionate burdens that a rigorous reading of Underwater Devices has placed on

otherwise law-abiding commercial enterprise. Thus, to the extent that Underwater Devices

has been applied as a per se rule that every possibly related patent must be exhaustively

studied by expensive legal talent, lest infringement presumptively incur treble damages, I

agree that the standard should be modified.

Although new uncertainties are introduced by the court's evocation of "objective

standards" for such inherently subjective criteria as "recklessness" and "reasonableness," I

trust that judicial wisdom will come to show the way, in the common-law tradition. The

standards of behavior by which a possible infringer evaluates adverse patents should be

the standards of fair commerce, including reasonableness of the actions taken in the

particular circumstances. It cannot be the court's intention to tolerate the intentional

disregard or destruction of the value of the property of another, simply because that

property is a patent; yet the standard of "recklessness" appears to ratify intentional

disregard, and to reject objective standards requiring a reasonable respect for property

rights.

The remedial and deterrent purposes of multiplied damages, and their measure for a

particular case, are best established by the district court in light of the original purposes of

35 U.S.C. '284, as set forth in Judge Gajarsa's concurring opinion. The fundamental issue

remains the reasonableness, or in turn the culpability, of commercial behavior that violates

legally protected property rights.

06-M830 2