§284. Damages

Upon finding for the claimant the court shall award the claimant damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention by the infringer, together with interest and costs as fixed by the court.

When the damages are not found by a jury, the court shall assess them. In either event the court may increase the damages up to three times the amount found or assessed. Increased damages under this paragraph shall not apply to provisional rights under section 154(d) of this title.

The court may receive expert testimony as an aid to the determination of damages or of what royalty would be reasonable under the circumstances.

(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 813 ; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §1000(a)(9) [title IV, §4507(9)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A-566.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §§67 and 70, part (R.S. 4919; R.S. 4921, amended (1) Mar. 3, 1897, ch. 391, §6, 29 Stat. 694 , (2) Feb. 18, 1922, ch. 58, §8, 42 Stat. 392 , (3) Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 726, §1, 60 Stat. 778 ).

This section consolidates the provisions relating to damages in R.S. 4919 and 4921, with some changes in language.

Amendments

1999-Second par. Pub. L. 106–113 inserted at end "Increased damages under this paragraph shall not apply to provisional rights under section 154(d) of this title."

Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective on date that is 1 year after Nov. 29, 1999, and applicable to all applications filed under section 111 of this title on or after that date, and all applications complying with section 371 of this title that resulted from international applications filed on or after that date, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §4508] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 10 of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 154, 157, 287, 296 of this title.