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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – When on Friday, July 27, a jury found for the plaintiff in a patent infringement suit against Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) before the United States District Court of Northern Virginia, the damages awarded had an impact on the marine industry giant’s second quarter earnings, the company reported in a recent statement.
The jury found that Brunswick’s Mercury Marine Group had infringed on a patent of Electromotive, Inc. The patent at issue had expired in 2006 and describes a method for engine timing and the firing of cylinders, according to Brunswick.
The jury awarded Electromotive approximately $3 million in damages, representing less than 3 percent of the amount originally sought by Electromotive, Brunswick stated. The court had previously rejected Electromotive’s claim that the damage award should be trebled, finding that Mercury Marine had not engaged in any willful infringement.
The judgment was included in the financial statements issued with the company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter.
Brunswick will report net earnings from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2007 of $56.9 million, or $0.63 per diluted share. Previously, the company had reported net earnings from continuing operations of $58.9 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, for the second quarter. The company said it is maintaining its previously announced full-year earnings estimate of $1.20 to $1.35 per diluted share for 2007.
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