December 19, 2014: the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found that the United States Army infringed on U.S. Patent 7,748,325 (written by Smith & Hopen) for a Firearms Projectile that replaces lead-based ammunition. For fiscal years 2010-2013 the Court found infringement of over one billion rounds of ammunition.
The court initially awarded the patent owner $15,617,533.68 in damages as of April 30, 2013. With interest, that judgment should be in the $25m range by the end of 2015 and approximately $70,000,000 over the life of the patent (Court’s Order).