Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Despite Reforms, Patent Cases Filed by NPEs Rose in 2015
Despite changes in patent law expected to curb the filing of lawsuits by non-practicing entities, NPE litigation increased significantly in 2015.
A new study by RPX Corp., which helps companies reduce the cost and risk associated with NPE litigation, reports that NPEs filed 3,604 cases last year, almost 25% more than the 2,891 cases filed in 2014 and slightly less than the 3,733 filed in 2013.
IP practitioners believed that moves by Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court and the USPTO in recent years would help reduce the number of patent suits filed by NPEs, especially those filed by patent trolls.
The America Invents Act of 2011 established a system where companies could challenge the validity of issued patents at the PTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board rather than in district court, offering a faster and less expensive way to kill weak patents often asserted by NPEs in district court.
The Supreme Court case, Alice v. CLS Bank International, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014), made it more difficult for companies to defend software and business method patents. In addition, the High Court has given district court judges more discretion in awarding attorney fees in patent cases, a move that was expected to deter the filing of some of the more frivolous patent lawsuits.
But these changes were not enough to reduce the number of NPE filings last year.
“This combination of factors might have seemed insurmountable to NPEs; yet clearly, these and other defendant-friendly developments failed to slow the overall rate at which new lawsuits were filed in 2015,” the report said.
New court procedural rules that took effect Dec. 1 prompted a surge in NPE suits filed just before the change was implemented.
' Lisa Shuchman, Corporate Counsel
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
'Huguenot LLC v. Megalith Capital Group Fund I, L.P.': A Tutorial On Contract Liability for Real Estate Purchasers
In June 2024, the First Department decided Huguenot LLC v. Megalith Capital Group Fund I, L.P., which resolved a question of liability for a group of condominium apartment buyers and in so doing, touched on a wide range of issues about how contracts can obligate purchasers of real property.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
CoStar Wins Injunction for Breach-of-Contract Damages In CRE Database Access Lawsuit
Latham & Watkins helped the largest U.S. commercial real estate research company prevail in a breach-of-contract dispute in District of Columbia federal court.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.