PTAB Petitions Held Steady in 2022 as Vidal Pushed Forward on Sanctions for Abuse of Process
March 15, 2023
Last year, validity challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) essentially matched 2021 levels as USPTO Director Kathi Vidal moved forward on a series of promised reforms. In 2022, 1,358 petitions for America Invents Act (AIA) r...
Read full postJudge Albright Still Gets Most West Texas Patent Cases After Judge Reassignment Order
March 8, 2023
Last year, the former Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas, Orlando L. Garcia, sought to address criticisms surrounding the concentration of patent cases before Waco District Judge Alan D. Albright with an order designed to redistri...
Read full postEx Parte Reexam Filings Level Off as NHK-Fintiv Reforms Lessen Impact of Discretionary Denials
March 1, 2023
USPTO Director Kathi Vidal implemented a series of notable reforms in her first few months in office last year—most notably, a series of changes related to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) practice of discretionarily denyi...
Read full postJudge Connolly’s Disclosure Push in Delaware Forces Top Filer to Change Course
February 22, 2023
Over the past several months, patent litigants have been closely watching a “Series of Extraordinary Events” that have been playing out in Delaware as the result of a pair of standing orders issued by Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly in Apr...
Read full postPTAB Institution Rate Rose After Vidal’s First Batch of NHK-Fintiv Reforms
February 15, 2023
RPX’s report on the fourth quarter and 2022 takes a close look at the significant changes that USPTO Director Kathi Vidal made last year to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in the wake of her April confirmation. Some of her most i...
Read full postTime Pressure at the PTAB: The Impact of the NHK-Fintiv Rule
February 8, 2023
2022 was a year of change for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in the wake of USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s April confirmation, with some of her most notable reforms impacting the PTAB’s practice of discretionary denials in Ameri...
Read full postWest Texas and Delaware Topped the Venue Rankings in 2022 Despite Significant Upheavals
February 1, 2023
The Western District of Texas was the top district for overall litigation and NPE litigation in 2022, holding the number-three spot for operating company litigation. Meanwhile, Delaware was the second most popular venue for overall litigati...
Read full postPlaintiffs Linked to Top Players, Inventors, and Third-Party Funders Hit E-Commerce and Software Space in Q4
January 25, 2023
The top market sector for NPE litigation in Q4 2022 was E-Commerce and Software, accounting for 27% of new defendants added to patent litigation campaigns. Consumer Electronics and PCs saw the second-most NPE litigation in the fourth quarte...
Read full postNPE Filings Remain Stable as Operating Company Litigation Dips
January 18, 2023
Despite notable events impacting NPE behavior in West Texas and Delaware, 2022 was practically a repeat of 2021 in terms of litigation volume—continuing the long-run trend under which such plaintiffs have named around 2,200 defendants per...
Read full postDespite Order Targeting Judge Albright, West Texas Patent Litigation Dipped Less than Expected in 2022
January 11, 2023
Western District of Texas Judge Alan D. Albright has long been the nation’s top patent judge, but some had expected this to change as the result of a July 2022 standing order from the district’s chief judge that seemed designed to under...
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