Quicklogic Corporation v. Konda Technologies, Inc.

Background

The court had previously found that an award of attorneys’ fees to QuickLogic was appropriate under 35 U.S.C. § 285. On May 27, 2025, it awarded QuickLogic $531,918.20 of the more than $650,000 it requested. The court declined to award some fees because it lacked enough information to determine whether certain hours were reasonable, and it applied an offset for QuickLogic’s settlements with attorneys Deepali Brahmbhatt and Derek Dahlgren.

Motion for Reconsideration

Konda Technologies, Inc. and Dr. Venkat Konda moved for reconsideration under Civil Local Rule 7-9 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e). They argued that the fee award contained a clear factual error because the court had awarded fees for litigation conduct that it previously had not found objectively baseless or frivolous. They asked the court to reduce the award to $273,559.56. They initially also argued that the court had failed to apply an offset for a settlement involving attorney Brian Tollefson, but withdrew that argument after QuickLogic stated that the settlement involved no payment.

The court ruled that Civil Local Rule 7-9 did not apply because that rule concerns challenges to interlocutory orders before judgment. The court therefore treated the motion solely as one to amend the judgment under Rule 59(e).

Court’s Analysis

The court agreed that it had not found all of the defendants’ defenses and counterclaims objectively baseless or frivolous. For example, it previously declined to find that the defendants’ original motion to dismiss was groundless because it relied on a non-frivolous interpretation of the 2010 CLA.

The court nevertheless rejected the defendants’ argument that fees could not be awarded for those activities. Whether particular arguments are baseless or frivolous helps determine whether the case as a whole is exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285. That determination addresses whether fee shifting is appropriate, not necessarily the amount of reasonable fees. After finding the case exceptional based on the totality of the circumstances, the court had discretion to determine the reasonable fee amount. The court also relied on a Federal Circuit decision stating that a fee award need not be limited to costs tied to specific acts of litigation misconduct.

The court did identify one inconsistency. Its earlier fee order had stated that QuickLogic could not recover fees for appearing at the first status hearing on October 5, 2023, because Konda Technologies had not yet unreasonably prolonged the case. But the May 27 order had awarded QuickLogic $5,326.23 for that hearing. To avoid contradictory rulings, the court removed those fees.

Disposition

The court GRANTS IN PART defendants’ Rule 59(e) motion. It amended the May 27 order to award QuickLogic $526,591.97 in attorneys’ fees, reducing the previous award by $5,326.23.