The April issue of the ABA Journal contained some interesting intellectual property litigation statistics. The statistics are directed to intellectual property civil suits filed in 2002, in light of the fact that it generally takes several years before a case makes it to trial (unless you are in a rocket docket jurisdiction).

There were 7445 civil intellectual property suits in 2002, a whopping 140 of which were resolved with a trial verdict. That means only 1.9% of intellectual property lawsuits actually make it all the way through trial.

Of the 140 cases that went to trial the plaintiff prevailed in 83 of the cases, or roughly 59% of the time. Money damages were awarded in 53 of the 83 cases in which the plaintiff prevailed.

When the plaintiff prevailed and money damages were awarded the median award was:
a) $2.3 million in patent infringement suits;
b) $159,000 in copyright infringement suits; and
c) $84,500 in trademark infringement suits.

As you can see, patent infringement can be very costly. This is why patent opinions are a wise investment.

David Dawsey – The Golf Patent Infringement Attorney