• InsideCounsel magazine recently published an article of ours, titled “Establishing Federal Rules of Patent Procedure“.  This article is the first in a three-part series in which we examine certain “patent reforms” that have been proposed in response to the perceived rise in assertions by non-innovative patent assertion entities.  In this article, we look at the potential for establishing special uniform rules of civil procedure that would govern all patent cases, regardless of which district court the complaint was filed in. (via InsideCounsel)
  • Speaking of perceived problems with PAE lawsuits, Prof. Adam Mossoff of the George Mason School of Law writes in the Truth on the Market blog that this concern is largely overblown, calling it “The Myth of the ‘Patent Troll’ Litigation Explosion“. (via Truth on the Market)
  • We’ve previously noted Vermont’s efforts to stop the infamous so-called “scanner troll” — MPHJ Technologies — from asserting its patents against Vermont companies and organizations.  Those efforts have now expanded to other states, apparently.  First, Nebraska’s attorney general opened an investigation into Farney Daniels, the law firm representing MPHJ.  And now comes the news that that the Minnesota attorney general has entered into a settlement in which it has agreed not to send any licensing or assertion letters to Minnesota businesses without providing the AG’s office with at least 60 days’ notice, and obtaining the AG’s consent — however, MPHJ is apparently not prohibited from filing infringement lawsuits against Minnesota businesses.  (via Bloomberg)
  • Finally, Samsung has appealed to the Federal Circuit several of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decisions in Inv. No. 337-TA-794, the case in which the U.S. Trade Representative vetoed the ITC’s issuance of an exclusion order due to concerns over standard-essential patent issues.  While the USTR’s veto is not appealable, Samsung has appealed the ITC’s findings of non-infringement of several other patents, including one patent — U.S. Patent No. 7,486,644 — that Samsung has alleged to be essential to certain wireless standards. (via Law360)