Patent Litigation Developments To Watch In 2016

Ropes & Gray attorneys look at five developments likely to have a major influence on patent litigation this year, in the U.S. and abroad. The first is the fallout from – and possible case law counter-reaction to – the Alice decision (Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International), which initially prompted a rash of patent rejections on Section 101 grounds. Other development to watch for include heightened pleading standards for patent complaints as the result of recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and, in the Stryker and Halo cases, the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of standards for enhanced damages due to willful infringement.