Caterpillar Owes Deere $19 Million as Judge Enhances Patent Loss

A federal judge in New Jersey magnified Caterpillar Inc.’s February trial loss over Deere & Co.’s patented road-milling technology, increasing damages to $19.5 million and blocking sales of infringing machines until the latest patent’s May 2029 expiration.

Judge Joshua D. Wolson criticized Caterpillar and Deere’s Wirgen America Inc. unit for “drinking its own Kool-Aid,” saying he wouldn’t disturb the verdict because the jury “reached defensible conclusions on every issue presented to it,” according to an opinion issued Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

Wolson, however, increased the jury’s award of $12.9 million for the infringement ...