Patent litigation in the United States is widely recognized as one of the most costly types of litigation anywhere. What is it about patent cases that make them so expensive? Excessive discovery? High stakes? Complexity of the legal issues and facts? These factors contribute to the overall cost, but there are others, as well.
A recent study by the Federal Judicial Center1 (FJC) examined federal civil cases of all types and identified the following factors associated with higher litigation costs, for both plaintiffs and defendants, even after taking other factors into account: higher monetary stakes; longer time from filing to disposition; disposition by trial; electronic discovery requests served by both sides; disputes over electronic discovery; greater case complexity; summary judgment motions; concern over nonmonetary stakes; and representation by larger law firms. Not surprisingly, many patent cases likely score a “perfect 9 for 9″ on this checklist. While electronic discovery accounts for two of the most significant factors, it is hardly the only cause of the high cost of patent litigation.
