OSKR in the News

OSKR Announces Two New Partners

EMERYVILLE, May 4, 2010 – OSKR is pleased to announce that Nisha M. Mody, Ph.D. and Evan K. Schulz, Ph.D., CFA have joined the firm as Managing Partners. Dr. Mody is a former Managing Principal of CapAnalysis, LLC in San Francisco, CA. Dr. Schulz is the founder and President of Eurekanomics.

Dr. Mody has provided financial and economic consulting on intellectual property cases, business valuation cases, antitrust cases and unfair business practices cases, among others. She specializes in the application of economic methods to complex business disputes and is retained in cases requiring economic analyses, financial analyses, valuations and/or damages-related analyses. Dr. Mody has constructed damages models in litigation involving reasonable royalties, lost profits, market share assessments, and but-for scenarios. Dr. Mody received a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy from the University of Southern California, and a BA from Pomona College. She is a Certified Licensing Professional.

Dr. Schulz provides complex economic and financial analysis primarily for commercial disputes involving intellectual property. He has been previously retained as a damages expert in disputes involving patents, trademarks, breach of contract, as well as for securities litigation. He has prepared patent valuations to assist clients with out-licensing negotiations and for federal tax filing purposes, and has provided pre-filing damages analysis for antitrust matters. Dr. Schulz received a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California, and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a Certified Licensing Professional.

Appeals Court Upholds Decision in Kentucky Speedway v. NASCAR et al.

On December 11, 2009, the United States Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the District Court decision to grant summary judgment against Kentucky Speedway. The District Court had held, inter alia, that “there was insufficient evidence supporting KYS’s definitions of the Hosting and Sanctioning Markets” and as a result, KYS could not prove anticompetitive conduct. Dan Rascher and Andy Schwarz assisted counsel to the joint Defendants, providing analysis of Plaintiff’s experts.

The Decision can be found at: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/09a0420p-06.pdf

Dr. Vince O'Brien to Appear on Panel at FTC Hearing on Patents

The Federal Trade Commission is conducting a series of public hearings to explore changes in intellectual property law, patent-related business models, and new learning regarding the operation of the IP marketplace.

Dr. Vince O'Brien, Managing Partner at OSKR, will appear on a panel at the May 4-5 hearing discussing trends in damage awards, the current standards governing patent damages, and their impact on patent value and innovation. It will examine various approaches to damages calculation and the evidence used in assessing damages, particularly in the context of reasonable royalty determinations. This panel will also explore permanent injunctions in patent cases in the wake of the Supreme Court’s eBay decision and the impact of recent changes to the doctrine of willful infringement.

See FTC IP Marketplace Agenda for more details.

Also, see "Are Patent Holders Better Off in Court," Doug Kidder's and Vince O'Brien's write up of their recent research on the subject.

OSKR adds Ana Aizcorbe as an Affiliate

OSKR is pleased to announce that Ana Aizcorbe has joined OSKR as an affiliate. For full details, see Ana's bio on our about page. We are excited to add Ana’s talent and effort to cases where her industry knowledge and analytical skills will prove valuable.

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OSKR is involved in a wide variety of projects for our clients, most of which are kept in strict confidence. We take that confidentiality very seriously. However, in a few cases OSKR's involvement has been disclosed publically, and this gives us a chance to share a small portion of our accomplishments.

Vince O'Brien provided damages and causation testimony on behalf of Defendants in Benesch v. Tandler:

The AM Law Daily - Orrick Cleared in Malpractice Trial

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Dan Rascher and Peter Rhee provided testimony on behalf of Plaintiffs in Parrish et al. v. NFLPI

Dr. Rascher filed two expert reports, testified at deposition, and at trial. After brief deliberations following the three-week trial, a federal jury ordered the NFL Players Association to pay $28.1 million to retired players after finding the union failed to properly market their images:

Breach of Contract and Fiduciary Duty Case Study (PDF)
Trial of retired players' suit against NFLPA set to begin today
Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated (PDF)

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Andy Schwarz and Dan Rascher thanked for their efforts to "initiate, investigate, develop, and prosecute" in White v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, a class action by student-athletes against the NCAA for unreasonably restricting the amount of athletics-based financial aid which colleges and universities could pay to student-athletes:

Student Athletes Settle Antitrust Case Against NCAA