Today, Lex Machina released its “2013 Patent Litigation Year in Review” report.  The Lex Machina report includes comprehensive statistics over many different verticals — patents, parties, districts, judges, rulings, etc.  The report draws on data from Lex Machina’s IP litigation database, with most of the data derived from PACER (federal court system) or EDIS (the ITC system).

There are several interesting observations in the report with respect to New York courts:

• Number of Trials – Lex Machina reports that trials were held in 128 patent cases in 2013, including 52 bench trials and 63 jury trials.  Seventeen (17) trials were held in the Southern District of New York, representing over 13% of patent trials nationwide.  The only district courts with more trials in 2013 were the District of Delaware and the Eastern District of Texas, with twenty-five (25) trials each.
• Time to Time – The Western District of New York was reported as being the “slowest district” in 2013, with a median time to trial of 2,423 days.  However, this data reflected a single trial, so the “median time” was a function of the particular case that went to trial in the Western District of New York in 2013.
• Merits Decisions – Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York ranked 7th out of all judges with 11 merits decisions in 2013 (merits decisions exclude stipulated, vountary, or agreed dismissals, as well as transfer, severance or consolidation terminations).

A copy of the Lex Machina report can downloaded from the following link:

https://lexmachina.com/2013review