Matt Rizzolo

An article reviewing and summarizing a variety of cost- and fee-shifting suggestions proposed by those in industry and government for use in patent infringement litigations.

Recent concerns over alleged patent system abuse by non-innovating, non-practicing patent assertion entities have led to many patent reform proposals. In this article, we consider proposals that seek to protect “end users”—businesses that simply buy and use an off-the-shelf product.

Could establishing a single set of procedural rules to govern all patent cases in the United States provide uniformity and consistency to patent litigation?

Non-practicing entities currently focus on asserting business method or software patents, but could turn their focus to design patents. The potentially vague and inconsistently applied “ordinary observer test” for infringement, plus the statutory right to recover the infringer’s total profit from the infringing device, make these attractive targets for assertion.

Should a patent owner be allowed to avoid the damages limitations of the patent marking statute simply by picking and choosing which patent claims it asserts in a litigation? This article argues that this is an unfair result and is not required by the statute.

Recent court decisions will require companies to refocus patent litigation case strategies to ensure that potential remedies for infringement are worth the risk and expense of litigation. Patent litigators typically focus on whether a patent is valid and infringed, and proving entitlement to a remedy for infringement is often an afterthought. But a favorable verdict may be largely meaningless without an effective remedy.

It should be clear by now that there is absolutely nothing new about MOOCs. So why the concern now that MOOCs may pose a special risk of encouraging patent infringement litigation? The answer, of course, lies in the numbers. The MOOC phenomenon has resulted in hundreds of thousands of individuals signing on to take part in this "new" education sensation. It is not at all far-fetched to expect that a single MOOC may register well over a million persons at a time. And in patent litigation, these… Show more

It should be clear by now that there is absolutely nothing new about MOOCs. So why the concern now that MOOCs may pose a special risk of encouraging patent infringement litigation? The answer, of course, lies in the numbers. The MOOC phenomenon has resulted in hundreds of thousands of individuals signing on to take part in this "new" education sensation. It is not at all far-fetched to expect that a single MOOC may register well over a million persons at a time. And in patent litigation, these numbers can mean money, big money. Show less