Understanding the Entire Market Value Rule: Legal Foundations and Evolution

In patent damages, apportionment reflects the fundamental principle that a patentee may recover only the value attributable to the patented invention, not the value of unpatented features or components. In practice, this means that damages must be tied to the incremental contribution of the patented technology to the accused product. The entire market value rule (EMVR) is a doctrine in patent damages, in particular, reasonable royalty damages, that operates as a narrow “exception” to the apporti