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→Government Accountability Office: Assessing Factors That Affect Patent Infringement Litigation Could Help Improve Patent Quality
====Findings====
*Patent lawsuits spiked in 2011 after passage of [[Leahy Smith America Invents Act]].
**GAO partially attributes this spike to the provision that no more than one defendant may be listed in a lawsuit, unless they are related through business partnership (e.g. person who is infringing and corporation of infringer). So, if a PAE wished to sue three persons, they would have to file three separate suits. This new provision would increase the number of lawsuits.
**"AIA restricts this practice by prohibiting joining unrelated defendants into a single lawsuit based solely on allegations that they have infringed the same patent."[http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/657103.pdf]
*"According to our analysis of data for this period, operating companies and related entities brought an estimated 68 percent of all lawsuits." (Lex Machina)
*"PMEs and likely PMEs brought 19 percent of the lawsuits." (Lex Machina)
*Operating companies sued 51% of defendants. PAEs sued 42% of defendants. (RPX)
====Data Sources====
====Other Findings====
Criteria for defining a PAE versus an operating company.
*Defendants per suit ratio (how many defendants are listed on one lawsuit)
**From 2007-2011: "There were about 1.9 defendants on average for suits filed by operating companies, and about 4.1 defendants on average for suits filed by [PAE]s." (Lex Machina)
Reasons why ED Texas is a popular venue:
*"Eastern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Delaware were among the top districts for quicker trials, higher success rates, and higher damage awards for patent owners." PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2012 Patent Litigation Study: Litigation continues to rise amid growing awareness of patent value. [[www.pwc.com/us/en/forensicservices/publications/2012-patent-litigation-study.jhtml]]
