`
`District Court Trial Dates Tend to Slip After PTAB Discretionary Denials | Patents Post-Grant
`
`By Scott McKeown on July 24, 2020
`
`https://www.patentspostgrant.com/district-court-trial-dates-tend-to-slip-after-ptab-discretionary-denials/
`
`1/3
`
`Supercell
`Exhibit 1031
`Page 1
`
`Patents Post-Grant
`Patents Post-Grant
`Inside Views & News Pertaining to the Nation's Busiest Patent Court
`Inside Views & News Pertaining to the Nation's Busiest Patent Court
`D istrict Court Trial Dates Tend to Slip Af ter PTAB
`D iscretionary Denials
`
`
`8/24/2020
`
`District Court Trial Dates Tend to Slip After PTAB Discretionary Denials | Patents Post-Grant
`
`The practice of denying AIA trial petitions in view of competing district court trial dates has brought
`some negative attention to the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) over
`the past few months. At the same time, patent litigation has increased over the first two
`quarters of the year by 20%. This surge has been greatly aided by the exploding popularity
`of the Western District of Texas (WDTX) with non-practicing entities — a
`district that the PTAB is increasingly deferring to in its discretionary denials based upon competing
`trial dates.
`
`While Patent Owners are quick to point to a looming district court trial date as being set in stone, in
`reality, these dates are o en reset once the PTAB hurdle is cleared.
`
`While still a small data set, cases that are denied by the PTAB based upon a looming trial date have
`seen significant delays in some districts.
`
`For example, in the patent suit heavy District of Delaware, 100% of the cases denied by the PTAB
`for an earlier trial date have been rescheduled — anywhere from 4-6 months. This is a significant
`delay that may militate in favor of institution given the relative speed of an 8-month PTAB trial
`schedule:
`
`https://www.patentspostgrant.com/district-court-trial-dates-tend-to-slip-after-ptab-discretionary-denials/
`
`2/3
`
`Supercell
`Exhibit 1031
`Page 2
`
`Delaware Cases Slipping 4-6 Months
`
`
`8/24/2020
`District Court Trial Dates Tend to Slip After PTAB Discretionary Denials | Patents Post-Grant
`In the WDTX, 70% of trial dates initially relied upon by the PTAB to deny petitions have slid. While
`WDTX shows a lower average delay, this is likely a due to that court’s preference to push out dates
`on a recurring basis rather than more significant schedule remodels.
`
`Taking all districts into account the average trial delay is 3 months, with a maximum of 7 months.
`That said, with COVID-19 delaying trials scheduled for the last 4-5 months, delays will certainly
`increase further as the courts work through their growing backlog.
`
`In the meantime, as one PTAB panel explained it, the PTAB has been firing on all
`cylinders.
`
`Copyright © 2020, Ropes & Gray LLP. All Rights Reserved.
`
`https://www.patentspostgrant.com/district-court-trial-dates-tend-to-slip-after-ptab-discretionary-denials/
`
`3/3
`
`Supercell
`Exhibit 1031
`Page 3
`
`Patents Post-Grant
`