FRCP Amendments: Implications for IP and Patent Troll Litigation

The amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that took effect on Dec. 1, 2015, are already having an impact on IP litigation, especially patent troll lawsuits. To start, the changes to Rule 26 underscore the importance of proportionality in discovery, a notion that is also central to revised Rule 37, which makes it more difficult to obtain sanctions for an opposing party's failure to preserve electronically stored information (ESI). These changes are helping parties control the costs of discovery, and therefore the costs of litigation, particularly in low-stakes cases brought by non-practicing entities. Further, the abrogation of Rule 84 and Form 18 has heightened the pleading standard for non-practicing entities alleging infringement to the plausibility standard required under Twombly and Iqbal. (See, Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009).) In all, these changes have shifted and will continue to shift the legal landscape ' especially for patent troll litigation ' in favor of defendants. Counsel need to understand these new rules and their implications to properly guide their case strategy.