Intellectual Property Disputes
Whether you are the plaintiff or defendant in an intellectual property dispute, Kroll provides the quantifications and support you need to build a compelling case and withstand tough legal scrutiny.
What We Do
When allegations of the misuse, infringement, or misappropriation of patents, trademarks, copyrights or trade secrets arise, as well as concerns about compliance with license agreements, Kroll’s intellectual property (IP) experts can help parties and their counsel prepare for the legal battles that ensue. We work provide comprehensive litigation support—for example, assisting with discovery and case assessment, preparing analyses of damages issues and Rule 26 reports, analyzing opposing experts’ opinions, preparing demonstratives, and providing expert witness testimony in deposition and at trial.
Kroll’s experts and support teams provide damages quantifications by reviewing and analyzing financial data to provide an objective assessment of the facts and figures relevant to the case. These may include the plaintiff’s lost profits and sales, incremental costs, price erosion and causation issues, including evaluation of Panduit factors to determine the availability of lost profits as a measure of damages. We also conduct reasonable royalty calculations and analyze related causes of action.
Importantly, Kroll has expertise in valuing intellectual property and negotiating future license agreements outside of the litigation arena. By leveraging our industry and audit experience, we can investigate underpayment of royalties, identify underpaying licensees and add profit to our clients’ bottom lines.
The Kroll Advantage
Kroll has worked on IP-related disputes within a variety of industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, software/technology, consumer goods, and entertainment; and the preparation of our analyses leverages our understanding of case law relevant to different types of disputes and jurisdictions, as well as the diverse and deep experience of our experts.
In addition to helping clients recover damages following IP infringement or misappropriation, we work with companies to strengthen their intellectual property management procedures to prevent future misuse or infringement of others’ IP. Our expertise in IP management spans physical and information technology security measures; investigations into the integrity of employees, vendors and licensees; royalty audits and surveillance and monitoring of intellectual property use.
Case Examples
Kroll was hired to evaluate damages for litigation in Texas relating to technology used in hand held remote queuing devices that permit visitors of amusement parks to wait for attractions without spending time in line. Kroll’s designated expert and supporting team looked at the market for the related technology and potential non-infringing/design around alternatives, evaluated the availability of lost profits under Panduit, and calculated damages using alternative measures.
In a case alleging false advertising under the Lanham Act, as well as unfair competition under state law, Kroll was hired to analyze damages from an advertising campaign which referred to the chemical composition of a popular food product as being natural, which plaintiff alleged hurt its sales and profits. Given the availability of disgorgement and lost profits as measures of damages, Kroll evaluated market and survey panel data and statistically analyzed sales over time, by product, and by geography, to isolate the impact of the ad campaign from other factors affecting sales.
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Contact Us
- Daniel Karson and Steven Rucker (Eastern Region, North America)
- Andrew Cowan and Kenneth Mate (Western Region, North America)
- Brian Stapleton (Europe, the Middle East & Africa)
- Tad Kageyama (Asia)
- Scott Warren (Asia)
