PersonalWeb Technologies, LLC v. Twitch Interactive, Inc.

Background

PersonalWeb brought patent-infringement lawsuits against Amazon and many of its customers. The court had previously found the case exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285 because, among other things, PersonalWeb’s claims were objectively baseless, its positions repeatedly changed, and its litigation conduct unnecessarily prolonged the case. The Federal Circuit affirmed those findings and earlier fee awards. Judgment had been entered against PersonalWeb, and the parties agreed that PersonalWeb had not paid any part of the judgment.

Amazon.com, Inc., Amazon Web Services, Inc., and Twitch Interactive, Inc., referred to collectively in the opinion as “Amazon,” sought further attorney fees and costs for work performed from March 2021 through March 2023. The request covered four main areas: defending PersonalWeb’s appeals and Supreme Court petition; pursuing earlier fee awards; enforcing the judgment in federal court; and participating in a California state-court receivership proceeding. PersonalWeb disputed most of the requested fees and argued that some post-judgment enforcement work was not recoverable under § 285.

Court’s analysis

The court held that § 285 permits recovery for work connected to the case as a whole, including appropriate work after judgment. It awarded $110,173.37 for work related to appeals concerning claim construction and non-infringement. It also found recoverable the fees for PersonalWeb’s Supreme Court petition concerning the prior ruling on the Kessler issue, but awarded only $209,582.50 because Amazon’s submissions did not provide a sufficient basis for awarding the full requested amount of $499,017.28.

The court awarded $292,505.92 for work pursuing earlier fee awards. For federal judgment-enforcement work, it found that the fees were generally recoverable because PersonalWeb’s conduct had required Amazon to pursue discovery and other enforcement proceedings. The court excluded $18,231.14 for work solely related to possible alter-ego claims and $10,084.69 for work on an unsuccessful motion to compel documents from third parties. It therefore awarded $1,136,120.84 for 1,931 hours of recoverable federal enforcement work.

The court also found recoverable Amazon’s work in the separate state-court receivership proceeding because, in the court’s view, PersonalWeb’s use of that proceeding had required Amazon to take steps to enforce its judgment. The court awarded $562,068.23 for that work, declining to consider $57,487.80 that Amazon had added without sufficiently identifying where the work occurred. It separately awarded the requested $193,299.37 in non-taxable costs and deducted a $4,048.50 discount received from one law firm.

Disposition

Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted in part and denied in part Amazon’s motion for further supplemental fees and costs. The court awarded a total of $2,499,701.73, consisting of the amounts for appeals, fee-related work, federal and state judgment enforcement, and costs, less the law-firm discount. The opinion does not state that the motion was granted or denied with prejudice.