The Delhi High Court recently awarded INR 217 Crores (USD 26.1 Million) in lost profit damages in a patent infringement case between Communication Components Antenna Inc. (“Plaintiff”) vs. Mobi Antenna Technologies (“Defendants”) for the Plaintiff’s suit patent i.e., ‘Asymmetrical Beams for Spectrum Efficiency’.
The Plaintiff claims that the rival products are similar and marketed using the same terminology, indicating similarity. To estimate damages, the plaintiff presented a Total Addressable Market (TAM) Analysis, evaluating Indian operators, site numbers, subscriber growth, spectrum allocation, and Bi-Sector Array Antennas types. The analysis projected potential sales of at least 94,710 Bi-sector Antennas in India by the end of 2015, based on sales data before the patent grant and trial completions.
Plaintiff calculated an average sale price of USD 1,200 per antenna from 2007 to 2011, adding a profit margin of USD 150 per antenna, totalling USD 1,350 profit per unit. However, an estimated market loss of 94,710 units from 2011 to 2014, the total lost profits of USD 96,874,870 (INR 216 crores).
The defendant argued that they were unfairly involved in this lawsuit as a means to limit market competition. Additionally, the defendant claimed that the plaintiff’s method of comparing the defendant’s antenna patterns with beam patterns from the suit patent using Adobe PDF Editor to prove infringement was flawed and unreliable. The defendant also challenged the suit patent’s validity, claiming that it lacked novelty and inventive step and it relates to mere use and mere arrangement or re-arrangement of known devices, which is a non-patentable subject matter.
The court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, rejecting the defendant’s patent revocation case. The court also issued a permanent injunction, preventing the Defendant from manufacturing, using, distributing, selling, offering for sale, or importing any product infringing the plaintiff’s patent until 2027. The court found the plaintiff’s damages reasonable, awarding USD 26,045,250 for 2011-14, with 5% interest per annum from the judgment date until payment.
Communication Components Antenna Inc. vs. Mobi Antenna Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. & Ors, [CS(COMM) 977/2016, Delhi High Court judgment dated, 16h May 2024]
Comments