FWIW…I asked a Patent Attorney to provide his take on the fact that we have a pretrial conference scheduled for the 17th, and what it could mean in light of our current situation. Below is what he stated.
Good luck to you, me, us, and all longs.
"If the pre-trial conference is set, that means the judge is ready to move forward with trial....or acting like he is. The purpose of the pre-trial conference, as the name implies, is to get ready for trial. In general, it's the last hearing before trial, and there is a ton of work that must be done, which is typically due just prior to, at, or just after the conference. Setting of the conference does not give any real guidance in terms of progress of settlement. It's more an indication that the Judge wants to move forward and get to trial. The judge may simply be holding the parties feet to the fire in order to expedite a settlement....especially if he thinks the parties are close."
