Finjan, Inc. v. Juniper Network, Inc.

Background

Finjan asserted several patents against Juniper, including U.S. Patent Nos. 6,804,780 and 8,677,494. Juniper prevailed on noninfringement of one claim of the ’780 patent. Finjan’s summary-judgment motion concerning one claim of the ’494 patent was denied in part; that claim went to trial, where the jury found noninfringement, and Juniper obtained judgment as a matter of law concerning damages. After a second round of patent litigation, Finjan stipulated to dismissal with prejudice of its remaining patent claims.

Juniper then sought attorney’s fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285. In an earlier fees order, the court found Finjan’s assertions of the ’494 and ’780 patents exceptional and ruled that fees should be awarded for all work related to those patents. Because Juniper’s billing records did not separate eligible from ineligible work, the court appointed Matthew Borden as a special master. The special master reviewed the parties’ billing disputes and recommended that Juniper receive $5,914,156 in attorney’s fees and costs.

The parties’ objections

Neither party challenged the special master’s method for identifying the relevant fees or deciding whether the fees were reasonable. Finjan objected to the scope of the award, arguing that fees for the ’494 patent should be limited to certain damages-related work and that fees for the ’780 patent should be limited to work performed after an earlier patent proceeding. The court rejected both objections because its earlier fees order had found the entire assertions of both patents exceptional. Finjan’s objections concerning both patents were OVERRULED.

Juniper objected that the special master had not calculated expert-witness fees and travel expenses that Juniper wanted to recover as sanctions. Juniper sought sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and the court’s inherent powers, which are powers allowing a court to address bad-faith or abusive litigation conduct. The court explained that an exceptional case under § 285 does not automatically justify sanctions and that the relevant sanctions standards required more than the conduct shown here. Juniper’s objection was OVERRULED, and its motion for sanctions was DENIED.

Ruling and effect

Judge Alsup adopted the special master’s recommended award and ordered FINJAN, INC. to pay JUNIPER NETWORKS, INC. $5,914,156. The parties were required to provide joint status updates every 28 days until they certified that all fees had been paid. The court also stated that the special master was to be reimbursed $15,960 for 53.2 hours of work at the reduced rate of $300 per hour, and it retained jurisdiction to enforce the orders.