Interesting Patent Litigation Trends Survey
The law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski has published the 2007 edition of “Litigation Trends Survey Findings.” There were 253 U.S. corporate counsel and 50 U.K. corporate counsel that participated in this year’s survey. The survey contains some interesting intellectual property information.
The respondents to the survey indicated that patent infringement claims are rising.
68% of U.S. Companies have not had any patent infringement claims asserted against them over the last 3 years. 19% report 1 to 5 claims, 8% claim 6 to 10 claims, and 5% claims 11 to 20 claims.
When surveyed on approaches in defending against patent infringement, the survey split the respondents into 3 groups: small (under $100M), medium ($100M-$999M) and large (over $1b). Here’s how they explained some of their approaches in defending patent infringement:
Never Defend
Small – 0%
Medium – 21%
Large – 11%
Negotiate License to Avoid Litigation
Small – 20%
Medium – 39%
Large – 22%
Litigate to Final Judgment
Small – 40%
Medium – 46%
Large – 41%
Obtain Written Opinion of Outside Counsel
Small – 0%
Medium – 11%
Large – 26%
When surveyed on the approaches used for enforcing patents, the following responses were given:
Take Actions Short of Litigation
Small – 70%
Medium – 38%
Large – 34%
Litigate as Part of Licensing Strategy
Small – 10%
Medium – 29%
Large – 32%
Small – 10%
Medium – 29%
Large – 32%
Litigate Only After Failed Licensing Attempts
Small – 10%
Medium – 14%
Large – 27%
There is a lot of other information in this 53-page report. To download a free copy (after completing an on-line form), click here.
Nice survey.
David Dawsey– The Golf Lawyer