2015 First Half Patent Case Filing Trends

Patent case filings rose sharply in May (607 cases) and June (654 cases) of 2015, leaving the total for the Q2 2015 as the highest of any quarter yet observed (1,656 cases, as shown in Figure 2 below).  The H1 total for 2015 is 3,122, putting 2015 on track to exceed 6,000 cases by year’s end.

 

2014- Jun 2015

Fig 1:  Patent cases filed Jan 2014 through June 2015 (2015 in orange)

 

2011-2015 by quarters

Fig 2: Patent cases filed January 2011 – June 2015 (by quarters)

As a whole, the filing rates of 2015 appears to be more like those of 2013.  The rise in June, however, is unexpected, as previous years tended to dip down from spring towards summer.

2013-2015 stacked

Fig. 3:  Patent cases filed by month, 2013-2015, stacked years

Compared to the half of 2014 (July through December), the spring trend towards more patent cases being filed in the Eastern District of Texas has continued and accelerated – a 166% increase in H1 2015 over H2 2014.  On the other hand, the District of Delaware’s proportional share of the cases has continued to decline from the latter part of 2014 by more than a third.

new B1 - new cases by district

Fig 4:  Patent cases filings in H2 2014,  H1 2015, and percentage change (showing top 10 districts by H1 2015 filings)

High-volume plaintiffs in June of 2015 include Oberalis LLC (50 new cases), Genaville LLC (25 cases) and Broadqast Solutions LLC (22 cases), all of whom chose to file in the Eastern District of Texas.

Top plaintiffs

Fig. 5:  Plaintiffs filing 10 or more cases filed in June of 2015 (Most plaintiffs filed in the Eastern District of Texas, shown in dark blue)

As noted in earlier filings-trends blog posts, the increase in patent cases filed in the Northern District of Texas is largely attributable to litigation brought by Avioniqs LLC (31 cases) and Industrial Print Technologies LLC (15 cases).

PTAB proceedings have remained strong and consistent with previous quarters.

PTAB by quarter

Fig. 6:  PTAB proceedings