Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Blog Post
However, this rise in the number of patent lawsuits matches the increase in numbers of patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. From 2009 to 2015, the number of patents applications filed increased from 460,924 to 580,327. 189,120 patents were granted in 2009, while 325,037 patents were granted in 2015. The number of patent lawsuits increased from 2,560 in 2009 to 5,378 in 2015. The patent litigation rate has remained relatively steady, with rates of 1.4 percent in 2009 and 1.7 percent in 2015. This time period saw a low of 1.1 percent in 2010 and a high of 2.0 percent in 2013.
The Eastern District of Texas had 55 decisions from 1995 to 2014 involving [[Non-Practicing Entities|non-practicing entities]] (NPEs) as patent holders, and 49 percent of these NPEs were successful in their patent litigation cases. The Eastern District of Texas decided a total of 148 patent litigation cases from 1995 to 2014, which means that decisions involving NPEs made up 37% of the total decisions in the Eastern District of Texas during this time period. Nationally, practicing entities had an overall success rate of 35 percent in patent litigation cases. Non-practicing entities had a lower success rate of 26 percent. Out of the types of non-practicing entities, universities and non-profits were the most successful with a 48 percent success rate. Companies and for-profit organizations were successful in 31 percent of their litigation cases, and individual and investors succeeded only 18 percent of the time.
Congress' push for patent reform creates the perception that patent trolls are constantly abusing patents and preventing innovation. However, less than 2 percent of patents in the United States are actually litigated, and there has not been a significant change in the amount of patent litigation that would warrant a complete reform of the current patent system.
