SILICON VALLEY, November 9, 2018: Morgan Lewis recently obtained a $268 million judgement on behalf of the Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research (AMF) from the US District Court for the Central District of California. The damages secured in Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research v. Cochlear Corporation are among the largest patent damages awards in 2018, and stem from a 2007 suit brought by AMF against Cochlear Ltd, the world’s largest implantable hearing device maker.
Based on the arguments of the Morgan Lewis team, US District Judge Fernando Olguin reinstated the $134 million jury verdict from 2014 and then doubled the damages for willful infringement – putting the judgment up to at least $268 million. This award secures the funds necessary for AMF, a Santa Clarita, California–based medical research nonprofit, to continue its mission to develop and commercialize revolutionary solutions for critical unmet medical conditions, including neuromuscular disorders, limb loss, diabetes, and even profound deafness.
Morgan Lewis partner Michael Lyons led the team representing AMF. Partners Thomas Peterson and Jason Gettleman, and of counsel Michael Carr provided support.