Press Release
October 7, 2014

Goodwin Procter Publishes Guidebook On Litigating With Non-Practicing Entities

Professionals

Goodwin Procter is pleased to announce the release of NPE Litigation: A Tactical Guide for Practitioners, a definitive guide for in-house counsel and business executives at companies facing current or potential patent litigation with non-practicing entities (NPEs). Attorneys and executives can view the table of contents for NPE Litigation: A Tactical Guide for Practitioners and request a gratis copy of the guide online.

The guide provides an overview of proactive measures for companies involved in NPE litigation, key statistics related to NPE litigation, case studies that reveal the operational workings of NPEs, and an overview of the differences between NPE litigation and more traditional patent litigation.

A dramatic surge in patent cases filed by NPEs, or “patent trolls,” has captured the attention of corporate America as well as state and federal legislators. Both private and public sectors fuel ongoing calls for new laws designed to mitigate or eliminate the perceived costs and inefficiencies of NPE litigation.

“Lost among the outcry for legislative action against non-practicing entities is a reasoned, deliberate discussion about the nature of NPEs and their role in the U.S. intellectual property regime,” said Douglas Kline, partner and chairman of Goodwin Procter’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. “Our detailed analysis of these and other NPE-related issues sheds much-needed light on questions that are too often ignored in the NPE litigation debate.”

The guide explores topics including:

  • What exactly is an NPE?
  • How many NPE litigations are actually filed each year?
  • Did the America Invents Act alleviate or exacerbate the rise of NPE litigation and what could be the effects of the pending legislation before the Congress?

The guide is published by Goodwin Procter’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, ranked by IP Law and Business as one of the nation’s most active. Goodwin’s 150 IP attorneys have worked extensively with clients to secure preliminary injunctions, declaratory and summary judgments, favorable results in Markman proceedings, advantageous settlements, victories at trial and appellate relief. Goodwin attorneys routinely work with clients to take cases from pre-suit investigations through discovery proceedings and trials.