Levi’s Patent Licensing Win Upheld Over Arbitrator Bias Claims

An arbitration award in favor of Levi Strauss & Co. in a patent licensing dispute will stand after the Federal Circuit rejected claims that the company’s prior relationship with the arbitration provider biased the result.

Patent owner Aqua Dynamics Systems Inc. sought over $15 million in unpaid royalties from Levi’s under an agreement to license its patents on denim-dying methods. A panel of JAMS—formerly Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Inc.—arbitrators sided with Levi’s, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California confirmed the award.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court’s ...