The study “recognizes that infringement litigation plays an important role in protecting patent rights, and that a robust judicial system promotes respect for the patent laws.” But at the same time, it notes that nuisance litigation “can tax judicial resources and divert attention away from productive business behavior.” With this desire for balance as the backdrop, the study proposes the following limited reforms for courts and the legislature:
- develop rules and case management practices that balance the burden and cost of litigation discovery for PAE plaintiffs and defendants;
- amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to require plaintiffs who file infringement suits to disclose more information about their relationships to non-party entities and persons;
- establish procedures that encourage courts to stay PAE infringement actions against customers and end-users, where the PAE has also sued the manufacturer of the accused product under the same theory of infringement; and
- as courts continue to develop heightened pleading requirements in infringement cases, ensure that plaintiffs provide sufficient notice of infringement theories.
