Patent Reexams

The recent Federal Circuit decision In re Swanson, 2008 U.S.App. LEXIS 18928, (Fed. Cir. Sept. 4, 2008), will make obtaining a reexamination of a patent easier. This case provides a great opportunity for litigators who do a lot of patent infringement defense work. I certainly know some litigators that would rather have the Courts decide validity issues, but I think getting a reexam is my preference. The standard of review is better in the reexam and the recent cases on obviousness make your chances in a reexam pretty good. Of course, this is from the perspective of someone doing more defending in patent infringement cases.