Is Proposed Fee-Shifting Law A Solution In Search Of A Problem?

The Innovation Act, proposed legislation that has been introduced in the House by Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), would create a presumption in favor of fee-shifting in patent infringement litigation. According to Mintz Levin attorneys, there are several reasons why this law is ill-advised, among them the fact that courts already can, and do, penalize parties bringing non-meritorious infringement clams, and that patent infringement claims that survive through the pleading, discovery, and dispositive motions “are, by and large, already battle tested.”