Item 8.01 Other Events.
Omega Patents, LLC Litigation
As previously disclosed, in December 2013, a patent infringement lawsuit was filed against CalAmp Corp. (the “Company”) by Omega Patents, LLC, (“Omega”), anon-practicing entity, alleging that certain of the Company’s vehicle tracking products infringed on four patents asserted by Omega. On February 24, 2016, the jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida awarded Omega damages for infringement on all four patents. Following trial, Omega brought a motion seeking entry of judgment, an injunction, and requested treble damages and attorneys’ fees. On July 19, 2017, the court entered an amended judgment including the award of attorneys’ fees and supplemental damages for sales after the jury verdict, for a total final judgment of $15 million. The Company appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “Federal Circuit”) and on April 8, 2019, the Federal Circuit vacated the compensatory and enhanced damages and attorney’s fees awarded by the trial court to Omega, set aside the jury’s verdict that the Company’s alleged infringement was willful, and remanded the case for a new trial.
The new trial began on September 23, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and on September 30, 2019, the jury determined that the Company infringed two of the four patents; however, the jury found that there was no willful infringement. On the first patent (U.S. Pat. No. 7,671,727), the jury found only one unit infringed, and assessed $1 in damages. On the second patent (U.S. Pat. No. 8,032,278), the jury found direct infringement and awarded damages at a rate of $5 per unit, for total damages of approximately $4.6 million.
We disagree with the verdict and certain rulings made before and during trial, and we intend to vigorously pursue our rights through post-trial motions and, if necessary, another appeal.
We have also initiatedex parte reexamination proceedings filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking to invalidate Omega’s patents that were found infringed during the litigation. Those proceedings currently remain pending. We continue to believe that our products do not infringe on any valid, asserted claim of Omega’s patents.