Although it seems like everybody is suing everyone else for patent infringement these days, it’s interesting to note that the number of patent suits (at least in the US) is not all that high. The stats indicate that there were only 2720 such actions in 2005, with plaintiffs winning about one-third of the time. While the volumes may not be high, the consequences can be significant…witness the recent $1.52B verdict against Microsoft, courtesy of Alcatel. The litigation trend will continue and likely accelerate because the stakes are so high.
So what’s a corporation to do to avoid becoming a corpse? One thing seems to be to choose the venue carefully…some juristictions seem to be more plaintiff-friendly than others, and it never hurts to be on one’s home turf.
And it never hurts to have as many patents as possible.
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I think patent suits usually make news, especially when big companies are involved, so it’s easy to imagine there are more of them than there really are.
Have there been any successful countersuits in the patent wars? Meaning, a defendant suing a plaintiff for bringing a frivolous lawsuit?