If you haven't already heard, the Stanford Law School Intellectual Property Litigation Clearinghouse (“IPLC”) was launched on December 1. The IPLC is a searchable online database that provides statistical information on patent lawsuit filings and outcomes since 2000, as well as somewhat less information (as of now) on copyright and trademark suits. The database has reinforced some of the common wisdom about patent filings, but has debunked a number of myths as well. For example, patent cases in the District of Delaware are more likely to actually go to trial than in the ED Texas. In addition, ND Cal plaintiffs have recently won slightly more than half their cases at trial. The study also notes that while the number of patent cases filed has remained relatively constant between 2000 and the present, the number of defendants has increased substantially in the past couple of years - something that Rick Frenkel was alluding to late last year.
The IPLC is at http://lexmachina.stanford.edu/patents. Only registered individuals can use the database, but registration is free.
