Patent Law Practice Center

Barney Cassidy on Non-Practicing Entities

Barney J. Cassidy, General Counsel and Executive VP of Tessera, Inc. as well as PLI faculty member, recently had an op-ed article published on Politico.com. The article, entitled, “Shooting a patent straw man,” challenges the notion that patent trolls and their readiness to litigate is at the root behind the recent surge of patent portfolio growth among the major tech companies.

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Patent Litigation Strategies for Retailers Based Upon the PWC Patent Litigation Study

R. David Donoghue, Partner at Holland & Knight and Practice Center Contributor, passed along this post he wrote for his Retail Patent Litigation blog that discusses PWC’s 2011 Patent Litigation Study.

I [recently] wrote about some key implications of PWC’s excellent 2011 patent litigation study.  The study is so dense that it deserves more discussion.  Here are several of the key takeaways from the study.

• Big Dollars for Trolls.  Troll damages awards were nearly double those of practicing entities received by practicing entities.
• NPE’s Are Not All Equal.  Looking at all non-practicing entities, universities and non-profits are more successful than trolls, but their median damages awards are considerably lower.
• Trolls Wither on the Papers.  Trolls and practicing plaintiffs are equally successful at trial, but practicing entities are much more successful winning on summary judgment.  (more…)