The Evolving Standard For Pleading Direct Patent Infringement

It has been a little more than half a year since the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure abrogated Rule 84 and put an end to the Form 18 bare-bones style patent complaint.  The question on the minds of many patent litigators has been: What standard would emerge for pleading direct patent infringement in the post-Form 18 world?  The contours of the answer to that question have begun to emerge as many district courts are now requiring plaintiffs to allege sufficient facts to permit an inference that an accused product infringes each element of at least one patent claim.  Counsel for plaintiffs should take heed of this heightened pleading standard.  On the other side, counsel for defendants now have an additional tool in their toolbox for attacking bare-bones style patent complaints.