Patent Trolls Beware: Judge Tosses 168 Cases in One Ruling

A recent study by Unified Patents, San Jose, CA-based provider of consulting services to help businesses deter lawsuits filed by “non-practicing entities,” or NPEs, suggests that patent litigation driven largely by patent trolls could reach some 6,100 cases this year, an all time-high.

About 90 percent of all U.S. technology patent lawsuits are initiated by companies that produce no products, typically have no employees and make money solely from issuing licenses for technology on held patents and litigation, according to Unified Patents.

But the patent troll trend line may be turning, if only slightly.

The top three patent trolls–—eDekka LLC, Data Carriers LLC, and Wetro Lan LLC—are all represented by the same law firm, Dallas, TX-based Austin Hansley, and all three file lawsuits nearly exclusively in the Eastern District of Texas, the same region where Smartflash earlier this year won a since-appealed $532 million case against Apple.

Late last week, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, an East Texas judge roundly assailed for giving patent lawsuit defendants a hard time, threw out 168 eDekka-filed cases in one wide sweep, as reported by Texas Lawyer and subsequently by Ars Technica.

In wiping out the eDekka cases, Gilstrap, who presides over more patent cases than any other U.S. judge, tossed about 10 percent of his entire patent docket in one shot by ruling that the plaintiff’s claims were not eligible for a patent.

Specifically, in a case concerning one eDekka patent and a defendant who sells used golf clubs and other equipment online, Judge Gilstrap found that the patent, which claims to “improve the functioning of technology,” didn’t meet the standard for patenting.

And, the judge also invited the defendants to submit a joint brief for attorneys’ fees, another sign of the changing times. Judge Gilstrap never has previously awarded attorneys’ fees to a patent lawsuit defendant, Texas Lawyer reported.

Oh, the times they are a changing (maybe).