LAW 798 Patent Litigation
The number of patent lawsuits filed in 2013 hit a new record high of 6,500 cases, a 25% increase over 2012. Patent litigation remains one of the fast growing types of complex business litigation. This course will address the special issues arising from the assertion that a patent is infringed by the defendant's activities. Common questions that we will consider from the litigation perspective include whether the defendant makes, uses or sells something that infringes the claims of a patent, whether the invention truly is novel and nonobvious" over the "prior art, whether the invention is a patent ineligible abstract idea, and how the claim terms should be construed. Related topics will include use of pleadings, discovery, summary judgment and related litigation stages in the patent litigation context. Readings and class discussion will be supplemented by occasional guest speakers. Ability (undergraduate engineering or scientific degree) to sit for patent bar is not required to take this class nor to litigate patent cases.