US Supreme Court restricts patent trolls’ ability to bring cases

The US Supreme Court has issued a ruling that affects where patent trolls can bring cases against companies. These can only be sued in districts where they are located or where they have committed violations.

The American civil rights organization EFF writes that the case will have “a huge impact” on the charges brought by patent trolls. These are companies that are only involved in conducting lawsuits and do not produce any products themselves. In America, the practice has arisen that these types of lawsuits are brought in the Eastern District of the state of Texas. A judge there created rules that are seen as positive for patent trolls.

For example, there was little time to prepare a case and there was no limit on costs, according to the EFF. This made it attractive for patent trolls to sue companies in that district, which happened on a large scale. For example, in 2003 there were only 55 patent cases in the district. By 2015, that number had grown to more than 2,500 cases, which the organization said came primarily from patent trolls. The current ruling largely puts a stop to this practice.

That the ruling isn’t a complete solution is evidenced by the EFF’s expectation that the patent trolls are now likely to file their charges in the state of Delaware, where many companies are based. This has to do with legislation that makes it attractive for companies to establish themselves there. The Wall Street Journal writes that patent cases in Delaware will have a longer processing time because the judges can’t decide cases at the same speed as Texas judges.