Post-Grant Insights: Staying District Court Litigation

As soon as a PTAB petition is filed, one ought to file a motion to stay the district court proceedings so that a client isn't forced to fight battles on both fronts.

Most district courts will require that the PTAB proceeding be instituted before staying proceedings; however, there are some district courts including the Northern District of California that may actually stay the proceeding before institution and that can be a helpful vehicle for a client.

By staying a district court proceeding, it enables a client who filed the petition to have an expedited proceeding in front of the PTAB to challenge the validity of the asserted patents and, meanwhile, put on hold all the expenditures related to expert discovery at the district court.