Arbitrating Patent Disputes

Peter S. Vogel, trial partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP and contributor to this blog, wrote a interesting article about arbitrating patent infringement licenses.

Here is an excerpt:

Markman Hearings. In 1996, the US Supreme Court (Markman v. Westview
Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370 (1996)) established a procedure by which US
District Judges hear evidence regarding the interpretation of patent claims during
what is now called a Markman Hearing. After the Markman Hearing results, the
rest of the case, mostly about whether the defendant’s products or service
actually infringe, is adjudicated.

Knowledgeable patent infringement arbitrators normally hold a Markman Hearing
as well, where the parties argue the claim construction of the patents in dispute,
and the arbitration panel rules on the interpretation. Unlike the US federal court
system however, there is no review by any appellate court and whatever the
arbitration panel rules then becomes the claim construction.

Read the full article: Save Millions by Arbitrating Patent Infringement Licenses.

[Ed. note: Mr. Vogel also writes the impressive Internet, Information Technology & E-Discovery Blog]

On a related note, we recently read an ABA article featured at the IP ADR Blog. The piece was written by David A. Allgeyer from the firm Lindquist & Vennum. Mr. Allgeyer also discusses arbitration within the context of patent disputes and compares the cost of litigation vs. arbitration. We invite you to read it: In Search of Lower Cost Resolution: Using Arbitration to Resolve Patent Disputes.

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