Battling -- From The Sublime, To The Ridiculous: Even Verdict Form Disputed In Delaware Patents Row

As the jury trial now underway in Delaware's federal District courthouse breaks for lunch -- on its fourth day -- we see that the parties cannot even agree on which questions to ask the jury, and in what order to ask them -- when it comes time to retire, and deliberate.

Not surprisingly, Merck's version (since Merck owns Idenix) is longer, by three pages -- (at nine total in that PDF file) and puts a very specific calculation of potential damages very near the top.

Equally non-surprising is the notion that Gilead/Pharmasset leaves the damages question to near the very end of its six page PDF file. Gilead also has argued to reduce the number of matters that are even jury questions, throughout its pre-trial motions, so it asks quite a lot less, of this jury. The able Judge Stark is likely to adopt a hybrid of each form, but I have attached each of them -- for those of you interested in such minutiae. . . [as they are unlikely to come into play for a full week yet]. But now you know. [This isn't likely to be a record breaking patent damages  trial -- but it still could happen. So we now watch it, closely. Daily, in fact.]

Now, I venture ever onward, on a lovely if icy-winded December afternoon -- must. find. soup. But grinning ear to ear, here. More holiday parties await tonight. Be excellent to one another. Pax tecum.



नमस्ते