A lot of law firms have spoken out against so-called patent trolls, those much-maligned nonpracticing entities (NPEs). Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe doesn’t just talk the talk. On behalf of client EMC Corp., the firm led efforts to stop the tactics that many NPEs use to induce settlements.
After an NPE called Oasis Research Corp. accused EMC and 17 other companies of patent infringement, Orrick used the case as a vehicle to address some of the procedural aspects of patent litigation that handicap defendants. In particular, Orrick appellate star Mark Davies argued that plaintiffs shouldn’t be allowed to name unrelated defendants in a single complaint, forcing them to coordinate their defenses and schedules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit largely agreed with Orrick’s arguments in an oft-cited May 2012 decision that allowed EMC to sever the claims against it.
