Patent holders rush to beat new pleading standards; record number of suits filed Monday
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Patent holders apparently eager to file suit in advance of new pleading standards filed more than 200 lawsuits on Monday, setting what is believed to be a one-day record for patent suits.
The final weeks of November were also popular for patent suits, report the Recorder (sub. req.) and Ars Technica. Nearly 600 suits were filed the last two weeks of the month, compared to about 200 for the final two weeks of October.
The rush was apparently precipitated by changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that require patent pleadings to meet tougher pleading standards. As of Dec. 1, the rules no longer include a model complaint form that allowed “cookie-cutter” complaints with few details of alleged infringement, according to a prior story by Corporate Counsel (sub. req.).
About 80 percent of the cases on Monday were filed in the Eastern District of Texas, considered a plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction. Most were filed by “patent trolls,” defined by Ars Technica as “oddly named LLCs with no business other than litigation.”
Those hoping to beat the deadline could be in for a surprise, however, because the new standards may have retroactive effect. According to the U.S. Supreme Court order implementing the new standards, they apply beginning on Dec. 1 “and, insofar as just and practicable, [to] all proceedings then pending.”
Related article:
ABA Journal: “13-city roadshow highlights changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure”
