Federal Circuit Advisory Council Gives Nod to Limited Claims and Prior Art in Patent Suits
IP practitioners on both sides of the “v.” should take heed that the Federal Circuit Advisory Council (“the CAFC Council”) has unanimously approved a “Model Order Limiting Excess Patent Claims and Prior Art.” Citing a “[l]ack of discipline” by the asserting party, the CAFC Council recounted that the resulting “superfluous claims and prior art” have contributed to increasing the expense and burden of patent litigation. And rather than dealing with the number of claims and prior art references on an ad hoc basis, as is presently done, the aspirational Model Order sets default numerical limits on the number of asserted patent claims and prior art references.