On September 15, 2023, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati secured a complete jury victory in a patent damages trial in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of firm client and plaintiff Epistar in Epistar Corp. v. Lowe’s Home Centers LLC, No.  17-cv-3219-JAK. Following a three-day jury trial, the jury returned a complete victory for Epistar, awarding the requested running royalty rate of 4 percent and full royalty base that Epistar sought. Earlier in this case, another jury found each and every patent-in-suit both valid and infringed, findings that the trial court has already upheld.

This is a significant victory for Epistar, which has been asserting these patents against Lowe’s since 2017 for the sale of infringing LED filament bulbs that Lowe’s imports from a Chinese manufacturer. The key patent in this suit is considered Epistar’s “crown jewel” and is fundamental to the practice of all modern LED filament bulbs. As such, the outcome is also of strategic importance to Epistar.

The Wilson Sonsini trial team representing Epistar consisted of James Yoon, Lucy Yen, Chris Mays, Celine Liu, Randal Miller, Bruce Chiang, Jason Ladewig, and Kathie Ramos.