NERA’s Role in Better Mouse Company, LLC v. SteelSeries ApS et al

The Situation

On 07 March 2014, Better Mouse Company, LLC (BMC) filed suit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, against SteelSeries ApS et al (SteelSeries) alleging infringement of a patent disclosing an apparatus for setting multi-stage displacement resolution of a mouse. BMC is a non-practicing entity.

NERA's Role

NERA Vice President Richard Eichmann served as SteelSeries’ damages expert. Mr. Eichmann issued a report in which he prepared a rebuttal analysis of BMC’s estimate of damages. Plaintiffs filed a Daubert motion to strike portions of the report, stating that Mr. Eichmann’s use of forward citation analysis—used to apportion the relative value of a patent at issue in the case—was flawed.

The Result

On 4 January 2016 the court denied the Daubert motion, finding that Mr. Eichmann’s application of forward citation analysis was relevant and reliable. On 13 January 2016, Mr. Eichmann testified at trial. On 14 January 2016, the jury reached a unanimous verdict, finding SteelSeries did not infringe on BMC’s patent. The court dismissed all claims against SteelSeries.