Paying More in Patent Damages a Puzzle Ready for High Court

Comcast Corp. is telling the Supreme Court that enhanced patent damages are becoming “detached from their intended function,” highlighting the lingering legal muddle over such awards.

Six years after the high court in Halo Electronics Inc. v. Pulse Electronics Inc. shifted the landscape for finding willful infringement and awarding enhanced damages in patent cases, confusion persists over questions underpinning such awards.

Cisco Systems Inc., backed by Comcast, recently asked the justices to revisit the issue, as it tries to rid itself of nearly $24 million in enhanced damages. The nation’s top court is scheduled to consider granting or denying the ...