To print this text, all you want is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.
The story of patent litigation in 2022 was one in all ongoing
stability—a minimum of, for NPEs. This previous 12 months, NPE submitting
ranges have been just about the identical as 2021, persevering with a long-term
development, with This fall unchanged as nicely. NPEs maintained that established order
regardless of upheavals in two of the nation’s prime patent venues: a
West Texas order that threatens the dominance of District Decide
Alan D. Albright, and new disclosure necessities within the courtroom
of Delaware Chief Decide Colm F. Connolly which have induced hassle
for some acquainted plaintiffs. Nonetheless, working firm plaintiffs
named 12% fewer defendants in 2022, a drop that was even steeper
when excluding circumstances concentrating on generic drugmakers.
In the meantime, the Patent Trial and Enchantment Board (PTAB) noticed a
number of vital modifications this previous 12 months from USPTO Director
Kathi Vidal, who hit the bottom working after her April
affirmation. At 2022’s shut, Vidal characterised her reforms
of the PTAB’s discretionary denial practices as selling
“certainty and readability” as establishment charges in America
Invents Act (AIA) evaluation trials continued to climb. Vidal additionally took
more and more pointed steps to discourage misconduct in AIA critiques,
imposing sanctions on a pair of third-party petitioners for abusing
the inter partes evaluation (IPR) course of—and hinted
that additional PTAB reforms might come as quickly as the top of Q1.
2022 was additionally a landmark 12 months for points associated to plain
important patent (SEP) litigation. Within the US, the Biden
administration withdrew a pro-injunction SEP coverage with out
changing it, leaving a void that may very well be crammed by a newly
emboldened Federal Commerce Fee (FTC). Courts within the UK have
additionally continued to make clear guidelines on injunctive aid in litigation
over honest, cheap, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) licensing,
whereas the European Fee has pushed ahead on its grievance
towards China over anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) in multinational
SEP disputes.
Lastly, NPEs continued to amass US patents all through 2022,
together with a number of entities that started asserting their newly
acquired belongings in This fall—some with third-party backing.
Investments saved pouring into the litigation finance business final
12 months, together with some notable massive fundraises centered particularly
on patent litigation. As stakeholders debated disclosure
necessities for funding sources, a distinguished commerce group additionally
raised nationwide safety issues over transparency into litigation
funding.
Initially printed: January 10, 2023
The content material of this text is meant to supply a normal
information to the subject material. Specialist recommendation needs to be sought
about your particular circumstances.
POPULAR ARTICLES ON: Mental Property from United States
