Patent Filings Drop To 5-Year Low In 2016's First Quarter

By Matthew Bultman

Law360, New York (April 12, 2016, 7:39 PM ET) -- The number of new patent cases filed in district courts during the first three months of 2016 was down more than 35 percent from the same time a year ago, bottoming out at levels not seen in five years, a report on Tuesday shows.

There were 955 patent cases filed in district courts throughout the U.S. in 2016’s first quarter, according to data compiled by legal analytics firm Lex Machina. That is the lowest for any quarter since 2011. By comparison, there were 1,471 cases filed...