Lex Machina is excited to release its first Contracts Litigation Report. In 2018, Lex Machina replaced and expanded its Commercial module to include non-commercial cases, including individual, class action, and government lawsuits. Now encompassing over 146,000 U.S. District Court cases from the last decade, Lex Machina’s Contracts Litigation […]
Lex Machina announces the release of its Antitrust Litigation Report. In analyzing over 9,000 Antitrust cases included in Lex Machina’s database, practitioners can gain new information and plan their litigation strategy accordingly. Antitrust litigation is a complex and unique area of law and this analytical review showcases customized insights that […]
Lex Machina released its annual Patent Litigation Report. This is a comprehensive report with data across the entire Patent module including patent litigation in federal district court and administrative hearings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). This report also includes Hatch-Waxman/ANDA trends as well as those […]
This is a follow up post to an earlier discussion of the Supreme Court’s venue-altering decision. One year later, it is clear that there is a significant shift in where patent cases are being filed, with many more cases in Delaware since TC Heartland narrowed the rules for venue. Texas, by contrast, has seen a significant drop in filings, but is still a favored arena for some plaintiffs. For the time being, Texas judges continue to have a significant impact on the patent litigation landscape.
In the final quarter of 2017, a total of 981 patent cases were filed in U.S. District Courts, a 1.3% decrease over the previous quarter’s total of 994 cases. Cases filed in the calendar year 2017 (4,057 cases) represent a decline of 10.3% over 2016 (with 4,529 cases). Despite the decline, Figure 2 shows that 2017 continues the pattern of relatively consistent monthly totals that has persisted since the dramatic spike in 2015 (caused by the end of Form 18).
This blog post focuses specifically on patent litigation trends; for a broader discussion of other litigation trends in Q3, see our update here.
On May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in T.C. Heartland, holding unanimously that, […]
For a more in-depth consideration of patent litigation trends around the Supreme Court’s landmark T.C. Heartland ruling, see this companion post. 995 patent cases were filed in the third quarter of 2017, a 12.3% decrease from the number of cases filed in last quarter. A drop from the second to third quarter has occurred in each of the past 4 years. Relative to the number of cases filed in 2016 through the third quarter, filings in 2017 are down 8.4%.
1,138 patent cases were filed in the second quarter of 2017, a 18% increase over number of cases filed in the first quarter of 2017. A similar increase from the first to second quarter has happened in each of the previous 4 years. Although the number of cases filed in the first quarter of 2017 was one of the lowest in the last 5 years, the first half of 2017 only trails 2016’s first half by 7%.
On Monday, May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court issued a slip opinion in the case TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group LLC (Dkt. No. 16-341).
The court unanimously* held that, under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) (the statute governing venue in patent […]
938 patent cases were filed in the first quarter of 2017. This was the lowest per-quarter filings of any quarter since 2011 Q3 (although just barely – there were 963 cases filed in Q1 of […]