Patent Litigation Alerts and other Patent Information

Over the past few weeks, I have been enjoying PriorSmart’s new “patent complaint alert” service.  Each day, I receive an e-mail listing the most recent patent litigation complaints filed in US courts.  I like this particular service because it is free (Rubin Anders is their corporate sponsor) and because it provides direct links to PDFs of the complaints and the patents-in-suit.

The service is still in limited release, but up to 200 Patently-O readers can sign-up for the service using the following link: http://news.priorsmart.com/patent-complaints/web-invites/patentlyo-HASJY12.

See a sample complaint here: http://news.priorsmart.com/static/files/example-alert-20100803.html.

There are several other similar services:

  • Justia (Free, but does not provide the actual complaint or patent number listing);
  • Docket Navigator (Great service and includes same-day summaries of many decisions, but not free). Normally, their service runs about $30 per month. Darryl Towell who runs Docket Navigator just e-mailed with an offer to Patently-O readers: “Patently-O readers who send an email to patentlyo_offer@docketnavigator.com before September 1, 2010, will receive the discounted rate of $14.95/month. That discounted rate is for new subscribers and will be good through the end of 2011.”
  • LexMachina (Great service, and is free for some).

Let us know (in the comments) if you have other good sources for this info.

Patent Tools: While I’m talking about patent information tools, I should also mention the new patent analysis tools offered by the company Patent Calls. http://tools.patentcalls.com/.  Interestingly, the tools were developed by well known patent plaintiff Erich Spangenberg (and his team).  Spangenberg then sold them to Patent Calls who decided to offer them as a free service. (Patent Calls makes its money by providing more detailed analysis of patents, patent infringement, and patent markets).  One feature that I enjoy from the Tools is that, for each patent, the main-page provides a direct link to additional information such as maintenance fee payments, certificates of correction, and patent family information. For published applications, the Tools also do a mark-up comparing the published claims with the issued claims.  Spangenberg’s team created a pretty good algorithm for automatically finding similar patents. However, at this point, that feature is not available for free. Of course, I should be careful in distinguishing Patent Calls “Tools” from another free service PatTools. http://www.pattools.com/.

13 thoughts on “Patent Litigation Alerts and other Patent Information

  1. 13

    On the subject of tools…

    The use of integrated software tools will have a positive effect on both the productivity of Patent Examiners and the quality of patent application examination.

    PXWB is a coherent set of tools (a “workbench”) that supports patent application analysis and Office Action formulation. PXWB allows Examiners to concentrate their time and mental energy on comprehending and analyzing the application and prior art, and then efficiently composing an Office Action.

    PXWB is open source and free at http://WWW.PXWB.ORG.

  2. 10

    Wanted to chime in to echo what Darryl wrote. Docket Navigator is much more than litigation alerts — he’s tracking every action on every case every day and highlighting/interpreting what litigators need to know. Our service is only for being alerted to new cases — a totally different beast.

  3. 9

    Just a quick note to say that we let up to 300 people join, but they’re almost gone now. Once they’re used up you can still join the waitlist and we should have more invites soon.

    Many thanks to those who signed up — please send feedback! help@priorsmart.com

    Kyle & Joel

  4. 6

    Thanks for the mention Dennis. In addition to listing new patent cases, the Docket Report summarizes every significant ruling in every patent case on a daily basis. For example, the Docket Report is a great way to keep track of how judges rule on discretionary issues that rarely make their way to appeal. Those who are interested can check out today’s edition
    with free links to the underlying documents and sign up for a free trial.

    We also have a free program for IP law professors – IP professors can request a free subscription for themselves (year round) and their students (while enrolled in an IP course). The Docket Report makes a great classroom discussion tool.

  5. 4

    Priorsmart–

    I don’t know if it’s true any longer, but your system used to limit the number of possible characters in an email address.

    Just FYI

  6. 3

    For Canadian patent litigation, I run a free daily email service that includes new patent actions, Canadian IP decisions, etc. The patents at issue are also included. The subscription page is at link to ippractice.ca

    Alan

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