SAN FRANCISCO — Patent litigation reform has made it halfway through Congress, and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up a related issue in February. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit could beat them both to the punch. And it might use a San Francisco case that U.S. District Judge Susan Illston called “acrimonious” and “disturbing”—but not worthy of an attorney fee award—as the poster child.
The Federal Circuit has set a high standard for showing that a case is so “exceptional” as to merit fee shifting under Section 285 of the Patent Act—a standard many reformers claim is virtually impossible to meet.
