Worlds Inc (WDDD)

[coolerheadsprevail]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I am recalling that being a PE may NOT be a criteria for claiming willfulness. IANAL, so I may be mistaken, but I believe that willfulness is willfulness regardless of whether the patent owner is a PE or not -- the claim of willfulness is primarily an assessment of the defendant's behavior and NOT an assessment of the plaintiff.

Once the condition of willfulness has been established, then I believe that the PE vs NPE designation may come into play, as this distinction will guide the Court as to which remedies are available and appropriate to address the willful conduct of the defendant. For example, as Ghart mentions in his subsequent post, the remedy of injunctive relief, as this particular remedy is heavily influenced by whether or not the plaintiff is a PE or not.

But, the bottom line is that, as Ghart points out, if SG put it in writing and formally claimed willfulness, then this is one area where I would have to say that it would make perfect sense to rely on SG, as I am certain that SG would not make a fool of themselves by claiming willfulness if the minimum criteria for making such a claim were not even met.