A litigation boutique based in Oakland, California, representing plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation.
The Norton Law Firm Patent Litigator and Partner Esther Kim Chang Featured in Law360 Articles on Top Patent Damages in 2024 and Patent Litigation Trends for 2025
Law360 recently sought insight from The Norton Law Firm partner Esther Kim Chang and featured her commentary in two articles: “The Top Patent Damages Awards Of 2024” and “Patent Litigation Trends To Watch In 2025.” Esther is a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and a trial-experienced litigator, specializing in patent and trade secret disputes. She has more than a decade of experience representing high‑technology and life sciences companies in a wide range of industries, including autonomous systems, smartphone technology, mobile device management, semiconductor chips, video compression technology, antibody engineering, and medical devices. Esther is also experienced in managing complex litigation, including the high-profile Waymo v. Uber case relating to autonomous vehicle technology and a high-stakes smartphone case leading to a jury verdict of over $1 billion.
As “The Top Patent Damages Awards Of 2024” article states, “The lists of largest patent verdicts in 2024, 2023 and 2022 are notable for all having similar numbers.” Esther commented, “I do think this reflects heightened scrutiny on awards in patent litigation,” and noted that changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence last year were designed to “strengthen the gatekeeping function of the judge” to determine what kind of expert testimony to allow on issues like damages. She said that could make huge awards more challenging to win.
Law360 also turned to Esther for the publication’s coverage of “Patent Litigation Trends To Watch In 2025.” With litigation funding a hot topic, Esther explained that [H]aving more patent cases backed by funding “will impact litigation strategy and settlement strategy. If one side knows the other side has deep pockets and is willing to litigate the case, it creates different settlement leverage and a different calculus on how to proceed with litigation.”
Esther added, “it would be nice to have some uniformity” on whether funding must be disclosed, noting that some judges, notably in Delaware, have rules requiring disclosure, while proposed legislation in Congress would bring that practice nationwide. Further, in reference to a Federal Circuit ruling this year that potentially made it easier to win damages for infringement that takes place outside the U.S., Esther said, “there are a lot of open questions as to how the [decision] will be applied…so…this is definitely a case to watch.”
Read “The Top Patent Damages Awards Of 2024” here and “Patent Litigation Trends To Watch In 2025” here. (Subscription may be required.)