In this issue:

- Special Report: US Supreme Court Will Decide Key IP Cases in 2014

- Patent Litigation: Strategies to Battle NPEs: Lessons from the Front Lines

- Design Patents: The Federal Circuit Extends Prosecution History Estoppel to Design Patents

- Patent Prosecution: The After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0

- News & Highlights: New Member Elected in Bond’s IP & Technology Group

- Excerpt from "Patent Litigation: Strategies to Battle NPEs: Lessons from the Front Lines"

Patent lawsuits brought by non-practicing entities (“NPEs”), sometimes referred to as “patent trolls,” can be expensive for companies defending such lawsuits. Indeed, according to a 2013 survey by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), the average cost to defend a patent case is nearly $3 million when the amount at risk is between $1-$25 million, and nearly $6 million when the amount at risk is over $25 million.

NPEs have a number of advantages in patent litigation. First, there is little risk of a counterclaim (other than a declaratory judgment counterclaim) because usually the only business of a NPE is licensing its patents. Second, NPEs are typically represented by contingent fee lawyers and thus don’t feel the same “pain” of legal costs. Third, NPEs usually don’t have many documents or witnesses, and therefore, companies sued by NPEs face disproportionate discovery burdens.