While other types of litigation can give rise to joint defense groups, they are particularly prevalent in patent litigation. Joint defense groups form in most patent infringement suits due to the cost of patent litigation, the fact that there are usually multiple defendants, and the common interests those defendants have in the litigation even if they are competitors in the marketplace.
Inevitably, it seems, there are a number of interesting characters who end up participating in every joint defense group. While the names of these attorneys may change from case to case, the species seem to be consistent across joint defense groups. Do any of these sound familiar?
