Patent Law

Don W. Martens of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP cites Judge John Shepard Wiley, Jr. from "Taming Patent: Six Steps for Surviving Scary Patent Cases":

When a patent infringement case is of monstrous scale, able parties gear up to meet the challenge.  District judges should consider doing the same.  One option is a patent special master: an experienced litigator who can supplement the regular court staff for a particularly demanding case.  The parties fund this attorney, who ideally should have the savvy and work ethic to help a beleaguered district judge pacify an unruly beast.  The rubric of "special master" is a means to this end.  Judges have an undoubted power to seek consent for such special master proposals, and parties commonly go along with bench suggestions about special masters.  The patent special master idea thus is promising and practical.  In the right case, it is worth a try.

Mr. Martens writes:

1. The special master is experienced in construing claims and trained in technology generally, even though not necessarily in the specific technology involved;
2. The parties usually are involved in selection of the special master;
3. The parties have much greater control over where and when the hearing will be held, and how long it will last;
4. The parties, or the court, can specify the date by which a decision must be made; and
5. Generally, an experienced patent lawyer is more likely to come to the right decision, and be upheld on appeal.

Read the full article here.  What is your experience as or with special masters?  Please provide your comments.