Geoffrey M. Howard

For Howard, the bad news is that U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton tossed out the $1.3 billion damages award for client Oracle Corp. against rival SAP AG for copyright infringement.

The good news is that Howard will get to try the case again in June, putting the attorney in the spotlight over the hotly-debated legal issue of damages in infringement cases. Oracle USA Inc. et al v. SAP AG et al, 07-1658 (N.D. Cal., filed March 22, 2007).

Hamilton ruled in September that the jury verdict did not match the evidence, offering Oracle a choice between a new trial and accepting a $272 million remittitur based on the company's lost profits and infringer's profits.

The judge wrote that Oracle never established that it lost hypothetical licensing fees based on the actions of defunct SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow Inc. because Oracle never before licensed its intellectual property.

Howard said he could not discuss February's decision to seek a second trial. Legal observers have debated the decision, noting that a $272 million jury verdict in a copyright infringement case was an impressive triumph.

But it is clear that Oracle, which also has been arguing for a large damage award against Google Inc. over copyright infringement of the Java programming language, is being aggressive in pursuing a higher award.

"There is a real emphasis being put on enforcing intellectual property rights," Howard said. "Oracle is one of many companies being vigilant about that."

In court papers indicating Oracle's decision, Howard wrote that by accepting the $272 million, Oracle would risk waiving its right to appeal the court's decisions.

SAP already has admitted it is liable for infringement, saying the defunct subsidiary downloaded and copied the software.

Howard also represents Oracle in several ongoing copyright cases. In addition, he represents Yardi Systems Inc. in a copyright infringement and trade secrets misappropriation claim against competitor RealPage Inc.

- CRAIG ANDERSON

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