Hal Wegner at Foley & Lardner circulated a note about a letter by Chief Justice Paul Michel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Hal writes:
One of the two most divisive points ripping apart patent reform legislation is the ever more contentious debate over apportionment of damages, as witnessed by the differing views of former AIPLA President William Rooklidge in contrast to Georgetown University Law Professor John R. Thomas.
Now, the Chief Judge has formally weighed in with the United States Senate, saying that the “courts are ill-equipped” to implement the proposed legislation which would “invite[ ] an unseemly battle of ‘hired gun’ experts opining on the basis of indigestible quantity of economic data.”
Writing in terms that Senators can understand (as a former staff member of the United States Senate before joining the bench nearly twenty years ago), the Chief Judge concludes that he is “unaware of any convincing demonstration of the need for [this] provision….”
His full remarks are found in his letter to Senators Patrick Leahy, Orrin Hatch and (via cc) Arlen Specter dated May 3, 2007 (attached).
See the full letter here: michellettermay3rd.pdf
