House Subcommittee Approves Issa/Schiff Legislation to Improve Patent Litigation in District Courts

House Subcommittee Approves Issa/Schiff Legislation to Improve Patent Litigation in District Courts

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES ISSA/SCHIFF LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE PATENT LITIGATION IN DISTRICT COURTS

- The Subcommittee on the Internet, Courts, and Intellectual Property today unanimously approved H.R. 5418, a bill to create a pilot program to enhance the expertise of district court judges hearing patent cases. The bill will establish a pilot project in at least five district courts where judges will have the choice of opting-in to the new program to hear patent cases while maintaining random assignment. Each of the test courts will be assigned a clerk with expertise in patent law or with the technical issues arising in patent cases. The bill will also allocate funding to provide educational opportunities for judges who opt-in to the program.

"Today's action puts this bill on track to become law before Congress adjourns," said Rep. Darrell Issa. "Members of Congress and patent holders in many different fields of intellectual property recognize that improving the ability of federal courts to handle patent cases enhances the benefits of innovation."

Rep. Issa, today, also released letters supporting H.R. 5418.

Under the legislation, if a judge opts-in to the new program and a patent case is randomly assigned to that judge, that judge keeps the case. When a case is randomly assigned to a judge in a district with the pilot program who has not opted to hear patent cases, that judge has the choice of keeping the case or referring the case to the group of judges who have opted-in to the program.

The core intent of the pilot program is to steer patent cases to judges that have the desire and aptitude to hear patent cases, while preserving the principle of random assignment to help avoid forum shopping. The pilot project will last no longer than 10 years, and periodic studies will occur to determine the pilot project's success.

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