Circuit Caps Mars Inc.'s Damages In Patent Case

WASHINGTON (CN) – The Federal Circuit limited the amount of damages that candy maker Mars Inc. can recover from its 15-year patent dispute with Coin Acceptors over technology used to verify the authenticity of coins in vending machines.     Coin Acceptors and former Mars subsidiary Mars Electronic International – which makes and sells the vending machine coin changers – swapped lawsuits alleging patent infringement over the authentication technology.     The court agreed that Coin Acceptors had infringed Mars’ patents, and not the other way around, but the judges concluded that Mars was entitled to a 7 percent royalty rate only, and not lost profits.