Patent News


Jul. 31, 2014

Managing Intellectual Property: The Overstated Effect Of Patent Trolls On Litigation, by Michael Loney

This article originally appeared in Managing IP on July 31, 2014.


Patent reform supporters are licking their wounds over the collapse of efforts to pass comprehensive patent reform in the US. But a new analysis from Lex Machina lends further weight to the argument that a pause for reflection may not be a bad thing.

Those baying for reform often point to patent trolls creating a crisis in patent litigation that must be addressed. It is true that patent trolls have become an increasing issue in the past decade; it is also true that some are overstating the effect of patent trolls on litigation.

A new analysis from Lex Machina underlines this point. Following up on its Patent Litigation Year in Review report release in May – which revealed that the number of patent litigation cases was up 12.4% in 2013 – the legal analytics firm has delved deeper into its figures to work out what is driving them.

To read the full article please visit the Managing IP site here.