Lake Cherokee Hard Drive Technologies, LLC v. Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.

Analysis Group was retained by Fish & Richardson on behalf of Marvell Semiconductor Inc. (MSI) in this patent infringement lawsuit adjudicated in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. Lake Cherokee's patent infringement assertions against MSI were related to semiconductor patents covering certain functionalities used in read channels incorporated into hard drives. The asserted patents enabled the calibration of read channels to each hard drive manufacturer's unique hard drive characteristics and enabled the measurement and calibration of read channels based upon various performance indicators. Lake Cherokee sought total claimed damages of approximately $193 million based upon a running per-unit royalty payment structure.

An Analysis Group team led by Senior Advisor Keith R. Ugone conducted an independent evaluation of Lake Cherokee's claimed damages and prepared a rebuttal report. Dr. Ugone testified in deposition and at trial that Lake Cherokee's damages were significantly overstated in light of relevant value indicators of the patents-in-suit, the profitability of the semiconductor chips in question, royalty rates associated with more valuable technologies, and a settlement agreement executed by Lake Cherokee with an MSI competitor, among other things.

The jury found that MSI's accused products did not infringe Lake Cherokee's patents and, accordingly, did not award any damages.