District Court Imposes Fine of $180 Per Falsely-Marked Article in Remand of Forest Group v. Bon Tool

Forest Group, Inc. v. Bon Tool Co., No. 4:05-cv-04127 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 27, 2010)

Upon remand from the Federal Circuit's December 28, 2009 opinion finding that the appropriate penalty for false marking was up to $500 per falsely-marked article, the district court concluded that the appropriate penalty for plaintiff's false marking was $180 per article, where the trial record established that the article in question was sold at prices between $103 and $180.  The district court found that a fine of $180 dollars per article, while at "the highest point of the price range … will deprive Forest of more than it received for the falsely-marked stilts, fulfilling the deterrent goal of § 292's fine provision."  Based on this per-article fine and sales of 38 falsely-marked articles, the district court imposed a fine of $6,840 against plaintiff.

Thanks go out to the Docket Report blog for its initial reporting of this case.  Gray on Claims, in conjunction with Docket Navigator®, is providing a false marking chart that is updated daily with new false marking cases as well as status updates on pending cases.  A downloadable PDF chart is available on this page as well including information on the specific patents and products at issue in each litigation.  Other writings on false marking can be found here.