Drilling for damages – Court finds a sweet spot with reasonable royalty rate

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Abstract: Damages in trade secret cases can take a variety of forms, but in some cases experts find it necessary to adopt a damages concept common in patent law. This article discusses a trade secret misappropriation case in which the court upheld a plaintiff’s expert’s approach to valuing damages borrowed from patent infringement cases that suppose that a license was granted at the time of the misappropriation. However, as a sidebar explains, the court rejected disgorgement damages. Southwestern Energy Production Co. v. Berry-Helfand (Texas App. 2013)