Last year\u2019s US patent litigation landscape appeared to be unchanged by the pandemic, except for a notable increase in activity from patent assertion entities, explains Dhananjay Kumar Das of Sagacious IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every industry around the globe is distressed by the COVID-19 pandemic and all industries are trying hard to overcome the resulting turmoil. Among the worst-hit sectors are travel and tourism, production and manufacturing, automotive, finance and all their underlying R&D activities. However, there\u2019re a few sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, virtual meeting tools, over-the-top media platforms, which have witnessed growth during these unprecedented times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the pandemic has altered the practice of law and posed considerable obstacles, the courts around the world couldn\u2019t afford a complete shutdown, and the technologies like e-discovery and remote depositions have enabled attorneys to continue to work without disruption. The court closures however have created a backlog of both criminal and civil cases and an obvious delay in patent litigations. It is too early to assess the lasting impact of COVID-19 on patent litigations, but one may still speculate certain trends based on available data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using RPX Insight US litigation data from the last three years, the trend can be depicted. An increase in patent litigation can be observed for the year 2020 and a similar surge can be seen for the locked-down months of March through December compared to two preceding two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n