Willis Electric v. Polygroup (Fed. Cir., February 17, 2026) 2024-2118
This episode concerns an opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which affirms a district court’s decision involving a patent dispute over pre-lit artificial Christmas trees. The court upheld a jury verdict finding that Willis Electric’s patent for integrated mechanical and electrical trunk connections was valid and infringed by Polygroup, resulting in a $42.5 million damages award. A central issue was the obviousness of the invention; however, the court found substantial evidence that a skilled artisan would lack the motivation to combine prior technology to…
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