Undermining The Ethical Wall In Patent Litigation

With a tip of the hat to Docket Navigator, the following case out of the Eastern District of Wisconsin will raise the eyebrows of anyone who has been a defendant in one of a number of “serially–filed” patent infringement lawsuits—that is, dozens of cases filed against different defendants under the same patent by the same...

PTO Endorses Patent Reform; Inspector General Questions Patent Quality Control

News of note from both ends of the patent litigation spectrum: The Patent and Trademark Office voiced general support for Congressional efforts to reform abusive patent litigation practices, while the Office of the Inspector General found the PTO lacking in its quality control measures for ensuring the issuance of high–quality patents. The juxtaposition is striking...

The Alice Penny Drops In East Texas

As we wrote last month, the early stats suggest that Alice v. CLS Bank has changed the landscape of patent litigation, with a 69% win rate for accused infringers on motions seeking a judgment that an asserted patent is not directed to patentable subject matter. One of the bigger open questions is what reception Alice...

Justice for Sale? Forum Selling In Patent Litigation

A hat tip to Written Description for nicely summarizing two recent articles on “forum selling” i.e., courts consciously encouraging litigants to file cases in their district. “Forum selling” is the counterpart to “forum shopping,” the practice of plaintiffs filing suit in jurisdictions they deem more favorable to their claims. Of particular interest is the commentary...

September Surprise? Patent Lawsuits Down 40%

According to data from Lex Machina, 548 new patent infringement lawsuits were filed in September 2013. This September? 329. That is a 40% decrease from last September to this. Moreover, as Timothy B. Lee of Vox highlights, there has been a steady decline in patent infringement filings over this summer from 416 in July to...