On June 7, 2011, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts announced that the Southern District of New York would be among the courts selected to participate in a 10-year Patent Pilot Program. Now that the Pilot Program has been in effect for over a year, it seems appropriate to take stock and assess whether the goals of the Program are being realized and whether the Pilot Program is affecting the nature of patent litigation in the S.D.N.Y.1
While it is still too soon to tell conclusively, the answer to both question appears to be yes. Patent cases filed in the Southern District of New York are slowly being concentrated among the judges who volunteered to participate in the Pilot Program. Participating judges seem open to using many of the case management tools and procedural devices that are commonplace in the most active patent districts, such as the District of Delaware and the Northern District of California. Those developments, coupled with recent changes in the patent law governing venue and joinder, suggest that the S.D.N.Y. may see a rise in the number of filings as patentees find it a speedier and more predictable forum.
