Companies accused of patent infringement have another reason to breathe easier. On August 20, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an en banc decision making it harder for patent holders to obtain enhanced damages for willful infringement and limiting the scope of waiver resulting from reliance on an opinion of counsel.

The recent decision in CSIRO v. Buffalo Technology, Inc. just might have been the trump card traditional patent trolls could use to visit the permanent injunction promised land. 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43832 (E.D. Tex. Jun. 15, 2007). Unfortunately for the trolls, however, the impact of this decision will not be as far-reaching and applicable to their business models as they might hope.