In 1990, individual inventor Jerome H. Lemelson appealed at the US District Court for the

Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division against a earlier judgment according to which Mr.

Lemelson had been granted damage awards for the non-willful infringement of his patent on a

coupling technology used by Mattel, Inc. in one of the corporation’s toy trucks. Mr. Lemelson tried to

prove that Mattel, Inc. had willfully infringed on his patent, and in accordance with US law he sought

to be reimbursed with a triple licensing fee. Mr. Lemelson’s idea of multiple damages at the appellate

court was denied; however, the single royalty rate he was granted for the inadvertent (!) infringement

by Mattel, Inc. still amounted to 24,780,000 US$. The royalty rate was calculated using the standard

remedy calculations for royalty rates as a standard 4.5% industry percentage of all truck toy sales of

Mattel, Inc. between 1971 and 1986. From an economic standpoint, this result seems very odd. As a

matter of fact, if the aforementioned damage award captured the hypothetical ex-ante bargaining

process correctly, this would mean that Mattel, Inc. would have had a willingness to pay roughly 25m

US$ to Mr. Lemelson. Given the status of Lemelson as an individual inventor, his need to access

complementary assets to produce a competitive toy truck himself, Mattel Inc.’s likely low costs of

developing an alternative coupling mechanism, and the obvious lack of willfulness on the part of the

infringer, we leave it to the reader to judge whether he/she is convinced that the actual reimbursement

Mr. Lemelson received reflects an economically suitable damage award or whether the result is an

outcome of a standard application of a legally accepted, but economically incommensurate, remedy

calculation.

http://tim-kommission.de/fachtagungen/2006/unterlagen/Reitzig_Henkel_Heath_On_Sharks_Trolls_And_Their_Patent_Prey_Paper.pdf

Microprocessor revenues are expected to see a second consecutive year of very low growth in 2009, but beginning in year 2010 much stronger growth is expected for the market. With the turbulence in the worldwide economy, the semiconductor industry is expected to see decreased revenue this year, although the market is expected to rebound nicely in subsequent years. Overall, the market is valued at $242 billion for year 2009 with the largest share of the market coming from logic, memory, analog, and microprocessors.

The microprocessors market should represent almost 15 percent of all semiconductor sales this year, but over the forecast period this share is expected to decline to about 13 percent. Despite the microprocessors market’s forecast to see average annual growths of nearly 9 percent in the coming years, the overall semiconductor market is expected to see double digit growth, averaging 10.7 percent per year. Leading growth drivers will be optoelectronics, memory after prices stabilize, and logic.

Microprocessor revenue is expected to reach over $35 billion this year, same as 2008. With the economic downturn and a waning PC replacement cycle, no new growth is expected until 2010 and 2011. Unit shipments will be lower than in 2008 and ASPs are expected to increase slightly.

http://www.electronics.ca/publications/products/Microprocessors-Market-Report.html

Lemelson was awarded 4.5% of toy truck sales for 15 years = 25,000,000

Overall, the market is valued at $242 billion for year 2009

Microprocessor revenue is expected to reach over $35 billion this year, same as 2008

If the same formula is applied for the overall processor market or only for the microprocessor market for one year or for fifteen years, it is still a lot of zeros and commas. glta