Marathon, Others Keep $5.3 Million Fee Award in Patent Case (1)

Marathon Oil Co. and others involved in hydraulic fracturing operations were properly awarded over $5 million in attorneys’ fees in a patent infringement case, the Federal Circuit affirmed.

The precedential opinion is the latest in a series of cases in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is outlining the contours of what it means for a case to be “exceptional,” thus allowing the winning side to collect attorneys’ fees under the Patent Act. The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2014’s Octane Fitness v. ICON Health & Fitness that an “exceptional” case is one that stands out ...