US appeals court affirms Toyota-Paice patent ruling

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court upheld part of Paice LLC's lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) for patent infringement on Thursday but told the lower court to reconsider damages of $25 per infringing car sold.

Paice sued Toyota in 2004, arguing that Toyota infringed three patents used in the drive trains of some of its hybrid cars.

The District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, which is a popular venue for firms filing patent infringement lawsuits, had disagreed with Paice on two of the patents but found that Toyota did infringe one. It awarded Paice $25 for each Prius II, Toyota Highlander or Lexus RX400H sold.

Toyota and Paice both appealed to the higher court.

The U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit ruled that the lower court was correct in its ruling that Toyota infringed on one patent.

But it said that the lower court gave no reasoning behind the decision to award damages of $25 for each of the three vehicles that include the infringed patent. It vacated that order and asked the Texas court to revisit it. (Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Brian Moss)