On December 1, 2015, changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will go into effect. The new rules will raise the pleading standards for patent cases, requiring plaintiffs to demonstrate that their claims are plausible, rather than just putting the defendant on notice of the claim. As a result, it will likely be a while before litigants have a clear understanding of how much information judges will require for complaints and what judges consider a plausible allegation of patent infringement. Law360 reached to Finnegan attorney Jason E. Stach for his thoughts on the new rules.
Stach said, "You could lose your filing fees and have to redo everything if you don't do it right the first time." With respect to companies that have become accustomed to using the bare-bones nature of Form 18 complaints as part of their litigation strategy, Stach believes that strategy will become more difficult given the new requirements. "It's not going to be a concern for people who are doing a sufficient investigation up front and putting their cards on the table, but it is going to be a concern for companies that rely on the lack of clarity to extract settlements," he said. He believe the end of Form 18 will ultimately be a positive change for patent law.
