The Tokyo High Court on Thursday ordered Hitachi Ltd. to pay 163 million yen to a former employee for the transfer of patent rights related to optical discs, quadrupling the award set by a lower court.
Seiji Yonezawa, 65, and Hitachi had both appealed a November 2002 ruling by the Tokyo District Court that awarded Yonezawa 34.9 million yen in the suit against his former employer.
The award is the largest-ever in Japan for the transfer of patent rights, according to Yonezawa's lawyer.