OPENING PANDORA'S Box: ANALYZING THE COMPLEXITY OF U.S. PATENT LITIGATION

Abstract

Patent litigation is widely regarded as one of the most complex types of civil litigation, with costs often totaling millions of dollars and typical cases lasting years. Also, the burdens of patent case complexity land on both sides of the technological divide, as large producers face skyrocketing defense budgets and inventors and startups risk being ''priced out" from enforcing their rights. Yet, the complexity of patent cases is poorly understood as an empirical matter. Instead, patent litigation is generally accepted to be a ''Pandora's Box" of incalculable complexity, which, once opened, is only arduously and unpredictably concluded .