The State of Patent Law: The Interplay of Recent, Pending, and Proposed Changes -

Recent developments in the field of patent law have given weight to the old adage that the only thing that is constant is change. Enacted in 2011, the America Invents Act (AIA) instituted sweeping changes to rules related to obtaining, enforcing, and challenging patents. Since that time, the U.S. Su-preme Court has issued several decisions in the field of patent law, touching on patentability, validity, claim construction, and enhanced damages.

While the impact of these changes is still reverber-ating through industry and the courts, additional changes are afoot. Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Federal Rules) set to take effect later this year will impact pleading require-ments for patent infringement actions and discovery practice. Meanwhile, in Congress, both the House and Senate Judiciary committees introduced, con-sidered, and reported out bipartisan patent litigation reform primarily directed at curbing abusive patent litigation. Despite early indications to the contrary, however, the proposed legislation appears to have run into headwinds and none of the bills were con-sidered prior to the summer recess.

Originally published in Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, Volume 27, Number 10, on October 15, 2015.