Trends in multi-patent search projects: Stay ahead of the curve

Have you and your teams been doing more invalidity searches recently? You're not alone.

Lately, I’ve been noticing more multi-patent invalidity search project requests from our clients and it made me wonder just how many patents have been asserted in the “average” infringement suit in the District Courts.

After reviewing over 2,200 District Court cases from the last 12 months, we have calculated the number of patents per suit. While the majority of cases asserted one (43%) or two (17%) patents, 460 cases (20%) included five or more patents of which sixty-one cases (2.7%) asserted 10 or more patents.

The data shows that a significant number of assertions are being made with multiple patents, highlighting complexities that require additional consideration.

The more patents asserted, the more important it is to have a quality search performed by an experienced and professional team. Trying to successfully invalidate five, ten, or more patents at a time will take a dedicated search team working together over several weeks with in-house and/or litigation counsel. Communication, collaboration, and iteration are key to a successful invalidity search project when the stakes are high.

This is where we can help.

Our team meets with you to discuss the patents, understand any nuances in claim interpretation and prosecution history, and review effective filing dates. We review international patents and non-patent literature on every search and keep searching until you are satisfied with our results.

If you would like to know how we can become an extension of your team, and provide thorough and comprehensive searches for you and your litigation teams, get in touch.