No Right to Jury Trial on Patent Fee Shifting, Federal Circuit Rules

On August 10, 2017, the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Finnegan client Eli Lilly and its subsidiary Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, ordering Alzheimer's Institute of America (AIA) to pay nearly $8.5 million in attorneys' fees to Eli Lilly and Avid. 

For nearly a decade, AIA filed suit against several university and pharmaceutical researchers, including Avid, alleging infringement on patents covering the research and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In 2012, Avid argued that AIA never owned the patent and a Pennsylvania district court agreed that AIA did not have standing to assert the patent. The judge also ruled that the evidence showed that AIA's principal conspired with two scientists to hide their blockbuster Alzheimer’s discovery from their university employers. As a result, Avid sought recovery of its attorneys' fees under Section 285 of the Patent Act.