Second Court Sets RAND Rate for Standard-Essential Patents

A second court has now decided what would be a reasonable and non-discriminatory, or RAND, royalty for standard-essential patents. The September 27, 2013 decision by Judge Holderman, in the In re Innovatio litigation in N.D. Ill., which was made public on October 3 with redactions, involves patents covering 802.11 wireless LAN technology. Last April, in the Microsoft v. Motorola case in W.D. Wa., Judge Robart issued the first decision determining a RAND royalty for standard-essential patents. Judge Holderman used a methodology similar to that set forth by Judge Robart, which was a modified traditional Georgia Pacific analysis to determine the outcome of a hypothetical negotiation. A copy of Judge Holderman’s decision is available here.