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Court-Appointed Experts in Patent Infringement Cases

By Mary M. Calkins, Debra A. Lange and Carlos Flores LaBoy

Under the recent Federal Circuit opinion in Monolithic Power Systems v. O2 Micro International, 558 F.3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2009), courts are permitted to appoint their own technical experts to aid in understanding complex technology involved in patent suits. Such court-appointed experts may even testify before the jury, raising concerns about undue influence and encroachment on the jury's decisional role. As discussed in this article, Monolithic appears to have left these concerns somewhat unresolved, creating a likelihood that they will arise again in future patent cases.

Types of Experts Relied upon By Courts

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