Are Patent Plaintiffs in for a Rocky 2014?

The start of a new year is a good time for reflection – an excuse to take stock of where we are, how we got here and where we're going. So it seems appropriate to observe that 2013 was a big year for accused infringers in patent cases and 2014 may be even bigger. We are living in the post-AIA world of tighter joinder rules. In the right case, an inter partes review petition can be a useful tool to narrow issues, obtain a stay of co-pending District Court litigation, or completely invalidate an asserted patent. In June, the Obama Administration's Council of Economic Advisers released a study concerning the detrimental effects of marginal patent claims by non-practicing entities and urged Congress to act. See here. Currently, a bill designed to curb abusive patent litigation has passed in the House ("The Innovation Act" – H.R. 3309) and several competing proposals are winding their way through the Senate.