Patent litigation isn’t what it used to be. Monumental changes to U.S. patent law have changed the rules of the litigation game. Basic assumptions about patent law that existed just a few years ago no longer apply. The changes have raised new questions about venue, costs and validity. The shifts in the patent landscape are forcing companies and their counsel to re-evaluate their intellectual property portfolios. Some in the patent bar are calling it a “brave new world.”
To be sure, companies still actively seek patents, which remain valuable assets. And patent suits are still crowding district judges’ dockets. In fact, 4,429 cases were filed in U.S. district courts between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 of this year, compared with 3,941 filed in the same period of 2014, according to legal analytics company Lex Machina.This sheer volume of cases, in addition to the added complexities of patent law, has prompted law firms to add IP counsel to their ranks, often poaching patent lawyers from rival firms.
