Amid a backlash against so-called patent trolls, plaintiffs in patent cases are facing a multipronged movement to tighten the pleading requirements that govern their infringement claims. Some of these efforts are centered in Congress, which is considering multiple patent reform bills. But others are coming from the judicial branch—a point clearly illustrated last week in a ruling by a federal judge in Virginia.
In a forceful 18-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Robert Payne in Richmond dismissed most of a patent infringement suit that Macronix International Co. filed against Spansion Inc., saying that Macronix’s claims were vague, unspecific and “bare-bones.”
