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Patent Litigation Down? "Bollocks!" Says the Troll Tracker

By Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog

While early reports are indicating that the number of patent cases have dipped slightly in 2007, the Patent Troll Tracker has done what few others have done, and has looked at patent litigation for 2007 according to the number of defendants named in complaints. Basically, the study looked at cases from PACER/ECF from the top jurisdictions between 2006-07, counted defendants, and extrapolated. Under this approach, over two-thirds of patent cases were taken into consideration.

The conclusion? According to the Patent Troll Tracker 2007 shows a 30% increase in patent litigation over 2006, fueled by a 40% increase in the Eastern District of Texas.

• Comparing 2007 to 2006, nationwide there was a 4.6% increase in patent cases, but there was a 31.5% increase in the number of defendants sued for patent infringement.


• Comparing 2007 to 2006 just for the Eastern District of Texas, there was a 37.9% increase in the number of patent cases, and there was a 40.8% increase in the number of defendants sued for patent infringement.


• Comparing 2007 to 1990, nationwide there has been over a tripling in the number of patent cases (+221%), and a quintupling in the number of defendants sued for patent infringement (+404%).

For the top 7 jurisdictions for patent litigation, the numbers came out this way:

• ED Texas: 364 patent cases, 1,402 defendants sued (151 troll cases)
• CD California: 272 patent cases, 729 defendants sued (23 troll cases)
• D New Jersey: 187 patent cases, 349 defendants sued (13 troll cases)
• D Delaware: 147 patent cases, 350 defendants sued (18 troll cases)
• ND Illinois: 137 patent cases, 261 defendants sued (26 troll cases)
• ND California: 131 patent cases, 249 defendants sued (19 troll cases)
• SD New York: 102 patent cases, 255 defendants sued (14 troll cases)
  

Notes the anonymous Troll Tracker: "I say pshaw to the notion that patent infringement increased only 4-6% in 2007. Look at the defendants sued: there was over a 30% increase this past year. That's the number that matters. Now where will 2008 fall?"

Read the full (and quite impressive) post here (link)

Full post as published by Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog on January 14, 2008 (boomark / email).