Drone maker flies high after fees ruling
A US court has awarded a drone maker nearly $1.7 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses following a dispute in which a company was found liable for infringing its patents and accused of obstructing the case.
The decision, handed down on Tuesday, July 28, at the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, goes against France-based company Parrot, which had lost the case by default against Drone Technologies.
In May US company Drone Technologies was awarded $7.8 million in damages for infringement, but Judge Arthur Schwab has now issued a further $1.58 million for attorneys’ fees and $107,466 for expenses incurred during the trial.
Drone Technologies had accused Parrot of infringing two patents centring on technology used to pilot drones with mobile apps.
The damages verdict came one week after Schwab declared a default judgment against Parrot for “a systematic campaign to wilfully defy” the court’s orders.
Parrot was accused of what the court described as “obstructionist” actions and showing “disrespect” towards the proceedings.
Drone Technologies then sought attorneys’ fees on the basis of the extra work it had to carry out during the trial.
Issuing the latest judgment Schwab said that the court had found that the “hourly rates requested are reasonable and reflective” of the market rates for patent litigators,” legal news publication The Legal Intelligencer reported.
Schwab added: “The number of hours requested are reasonable, especially in light of the court’s intimate knowledge of the unprecedented nature of this litigation over a period of 18 months, in which the entire proceeding was impeded and unduly complicated by defendant’s exceptional conduct.”
The “exceptional conduct” refers to Parrot’s allegedly obstructive actions including months of discovery delays and a systematic campaign to “willfully defy” court orders.
Parrot had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication but we will update the story should the company get in touch.
Drone Technologies could not be reached for comment.
