Facts from U.S. District Courts
Protected property rights continue to be an important part of the American jurisprudence system. As reported by the Federal Judiciary The number of intellectual property cases commenced in 2005 exceeded the number of cases terminated, continuing the trend from 2004. The tables and graphs below show recent data regarding intellectual property rights cases.
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Cases Terminated in 2005
Although the Court acted in almost 63% of copyright, patent, and trademark cases, most intellectual property suits do not go to trial. Only 2.0% of the cases terminated during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2005 reached trial. The majority of cases ended before pretrial.
With regards to Court involvement, patent infringement cases received relatively more attention: the Court acted in 68% of patent suits and 3.8% of these infringement cases reached trial. Of those cases that went to trial, 71% of patent cases were tried by a jury. These percentages are higher for patents than for other types of suits. |
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U.S. District Courts - Civil Cases Terminated During the
12-month Period Ending June 30, 2005
| Nature of Suit |
Total |
No Court Action |
Court Action |
| Total |
Before Pretrial |
During or After Pretrial |
During or After Trial |
| Total |
Nonjury |
Jury |
Percent Reaching Trial |
| Copyright |
3,917 |
1,581 |
2,336 |
2,042 |
257 |
37 |
13 |
24 |
0.9% |
| Patent |
2,756 |
874 |
1,882 |
1,443 |
334 |
105 |
30 |
75 |
3.8% |
| Trademark |
3,502 |
1,276 |
2,226 |
1,803 |
366 |
57 |
29 |
28 |
1.6% |
| Total |
10,175 |
3,731 |
6,444 |
5,288 |
957 |
199 |
72 |
127 |
2.0% |
Cases Commenced in 2005
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During the 12-month period ending June 30, 2005, copyright cases showed the largest growth at 104.5% and accounted for all of the increase in new cases. New patent infringement cases fell by about 8.5% while new trademark infringements remained relatively stable. Copyright infringement cases are currently the largest group of new intellectual property suits. |
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U.S. District Courts - Civil Cases Commenced During the
12-Month Period Ending June 30, 2005
| Nature of Suit |
2004 |
2005 |
| Total |
Percentage Increase |
Private Cases |
U.S. Gov't Cases |
| Plaintiff |
Defendant |
| Copyright |
2,663 |
5,445 |
104.5% |
5,445 |
0 |
0 |
| Patent |
3,046 |
2,788 |
-8.5% |
2,773 |
4 |
11 |
| Trademark |
3,580 |
3,576 |
-0.0% |
3,566 |
10 |
0 |
| Total |
9,289 |
11,809 |
27.1% |
11,784 |
14 |
11 |
The above information is based on statistics reported by the U.S. Federal Judiciary.
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