District Court Patent Litigation
Patent litigation can seem intimidating. It is in federal court and the opposing party might be represented by a large law firm. In reality, it is nothing to be afraid of.
That large law firm is charging their client huge amounts of money every month. This can make sense for a big case, but not for every case. Those huge fees can make a party eager to settle. Most cases either settle or get decided on summary judgment - only about 5% go to trial. I offer fixed-fee representation that let's you stand up for yourself without overinvesting in a case.
By the Numbers
Patents. The Patent Office issued about 325,000 patents in 2025. Right now there are about 4 million patents in force (some expire for failure to pay maintenance fees).
Cases. While there is variance from year to year, there are roughly 3,500-4,000 patent cases filed in the district courts each year.
Technologies. Many different technologies are litigated each year, but most litigated patents relate to computers, telecom, or biotech.
NPEs. Numbers vary by source, but something like 70% of patent litigation is filed by Non-Practicing Entities.
Venue Concentration. The majority of patent litigation tends to be clustered in a small number of venues perceived to be favorable. For example, there were nearly 800 new patent cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas in 2024. Other popular venues include the District of Delaware and the Northern District of Illinois.
Frequent Targets. The most frequently named patent defendants are big tech companies. The most sued companies include Samsung, Google, Apple, and Amazon.
Section 337 Investigations at the ITC
The U.S. International Trade Commission enforces Section 337 (19 U.S.C. 1337). Section 337 provides that it is an unfair trade practice to import articles that infringe a U.S. patent or trademark. These cases move faster than district court actions and are more likely to go to trial. A prevailing patent or trademark owner can be awarded an exclusion order enforced by Customs and Border Protection as well as a cease and desist order.
I have deep experience with these proceedings, served as an aide to an ITC Commissioner for several years, and have authored a book about Section 337.
Who Should File A Section 337 Complaint?
A Section 337 action is a good option for some IP right holders. It lets the plaintiff (called the Complainant) aggregate several infringers into a single action even though there might not be a single court that has jurisdiction over each defendant.
It also has the advantage of speed. The parties typically receive an Initial Determination within 15 months of institution and, if the Complainant is successful, an Exclusion Order will be issued about 4 months thereafter (although there is a 60-day Presidential Review Period where Respondents can still enter their accused products if they pay a bond).