US patent litigation falls 13% in third quarter

US patent case filing in US district courts fell in the third quarter, according to figures pulled from the Docket Navigator database. Some 1,130 cases were filed, down 13% from the 1,299 in the second quarter.

However, the third quarter was up 17% on the 965 cases filed in the first quarter. Patent case filing at the beginning of the year was subdued as a result of a rush of filing in November last year ahead of new rules requiring more disclosure in patent infringement complaints.

The number of cases filed in the third quarter was up slightly on the 1,114 cases filed in the same quarter last year.

The quarterly average for this year is 1,131 (almost exactly the same as the number of cases filed in the third quarter), which compares with a quarterly average for the whole of 2015 of 1,443. This means the average number of cases filed so far this year is down 22% on the average for the whole of 2015.

The number of cases filed in September – 313 – was the third-lowest figure of the year, ahead of only January and February.

Managing IP tomorrow will be publishing an in-depth analysis of US patent litigation trends so far this year, including revealing the top plaintiffs and defendants and interviewing practitioners to find their thoughts on what is driving filing.