Bits and Bytes No. 89

  • Patent Case Management: Professor Peter Menell (Berkeley) has been working with several top patent litigators to develop a “comprehensive patent case management guide” for federal judges. The almost-final draft is available online. The manuscript will very likely become a desk reference for district court judges and their clerks once it is published by the Federal Judicial Center in the next couple of months. In some ways, the 500+ page manuscript is a patent doctrine encyclopedia as well as a judicial form book.
  • [UPDATE] Secretary of Commerce: In a prior post, I wrote about the potential John Thompson, CEO of Symantec may be appointed as the next Secretary of Commerce. As noted in the comments, I failed to mention the fact that Symantec is a leading member of the “Coalition for Patent Fairness.” The Coalition is a lobbying group pushing for reduced patent damages awards, reduced ability to forum shop, and an invigorated system for post-grant challenges to asserted patents. [LINK] Previously, the Coalition also supported eBay and reduced willfulness findings. Each of these changes reduce the potential power individual patents.
  • Query: Assume you have a popular product covered by a pending patent. Is there a way to mark the patent pending good in a way so that an infringer will be considered on notice of the patent as soon as the patent issues (so that you can collect past damages).