Schlumberger Wins in US Supreme Court on Patent Damages
use of their patented technology abroad in a victory for Schlumberger NV, the world's largest oilfield services provider.The 7-2 decision overturned a lower court's ruling that had enforced limits on applying U.S. patent law overseas and reduced by $93.4 million the damages sum that rival ION Geophysical Corp had to pay for infringing Schlumberger technology that helps find oil and gas beneath the ocean floor. Both companies are based in Houston.The decision expands the ability of patent owners to recover foreign-based damages, increasing the threat posed by certain infringement lawsuits in the
Schlumberger Fights to Boost Patent Damages at US Supreme Court
for companies to recoup profits lost due to the unauthorized use of their patented technology overseas in a dispute involving Schlumberger NV, the world's largest oilfield services provider.The nine justices heard about an hour of arguments that will resolve the amount of money that rival ION Geophysical Corp must pay for infringing Schlumberger technology that helps search for oil and gas beneath the ocean floor. Both companies are based in Houston.Some justices, including conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, expressed concerns about applying U.S. patent laws abroad
US Supreme Court to Hear Schlumberger Fight over Patent Damages
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a bid by Schlumberger NV, the world's largest oilfield services provider, to allow companies to recoup profits lost due to patent infringement when patented technology is used overseas. The case involves a fight over how much rival ION Geophysical Corp must pay for infringing Schlumberger technology that helps search for oil and gas beneath the ocean floor. The justices will hear Schlumberger's appeal of a lower court ruling that barred it from recovering more than $93 million stemming from foreign contracts the company said it lost as a
U.S. Court Finds WesternGeco Patents Valid
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed the 2014 judgment that ION Geophysical Corp. infringed four seminal WesternGeco LLP patents covering streamer steering technology for marine seismic surveys, and that WesternGeco is the rightful owner of the pioneering technology. In 2009, WesternGeco filed suit for patent infringement against ION's DigiFIN streamer steering system in U.S. federal court in Houston, Texas. ION was found to infringe one patent on summary judgment, and a 2012 jury found that ION infringed three more WesternGeco patents and rejected all of