Eetimes article dated today
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In response, Patriot Scientific and TPL Group have formed Alliacense. This outfit has sent notice of alleged patent infringement to no fewer than 485 companies; at least 18 have already capitulated halfway through 2007. Almost half of the suits in the last decade have been filed in the Ninth Circuit, primarily in California courts. The Patent Local Rules in the Northern District of California and the physical location of many firms in the semiconductor industry help account for such filing statistics. The Fifth Circuit, with its pro-patentee Eastern District of Texas, has seen roughly 18 percent of the filings. Next is the Third Circuit, which includes Delaware, with 13 percent. The next circuit, the Fourth Circuit, drops dramatically, to around 4 percent.
In 2005, a whopping 97 percent of cases were filed in only two district courts: the Ninth Circuit (60 percent) and the Fifth Circuit (37 percent). In 2006, filings decreased to some extent, with the Ninth and Fifth Circuits coming in around 50 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
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