Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 Class Actions in Patent Infringement Litigation

Abstract

FIRST PARAGRAPH(S)|In several recent cases, patentees have attempted to utilize class actions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (Rule 23) to enforce their patents. The federal district courts have split on whether such claims are maintainable. This comment will first explore the reasons why patentees seek to use class actions, followed by an analysis of the issues involved in the use of Rule 23.|When a patent is being infringed by numerous parties, the patent holder has two courses of action. He may sue each infringer individually, or sue the group in a class action. Before 1970, a patentee (i.e., patent holder) whose patent was held unenforceable against an individual defendant could relitigate this issue against other alleged infringers. These later defendants could not assert that a prior judgment estopped the pantentee...