2012 was a year filled with big legal battles between technology giants over patents and this trend is expected to continue more or less in the same manner during 2013.
With global technology firms such as Apple, Samsung, Facebook, Google and more locked in legal battles over patents, 2013 is expected to witness even more litigations as more firms enter court battles.
American patent laws will change in March as the America Invents Act comes into force. With the act patents will now be given to the company which first files a patent application rather than the previous rule where priority rights were given to the first organisation which documented the patent.
This is expected to result in an increased rush to file patents by companies first, leaving smaller companies with limited legal budgets trailing behind their larger competitors.
Patents filed by global firms with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are also expected to rise in 2013 continuing the trend from 2011 in which the vast majority of top 50 firms receiving patents from the USPTO were based overseas.
This will lead to further involvement of foreign firms in patent litigation while also leading to greater enforcement of IP rights overseas. Start-ups entering the market will now more than ever need to develop an effective IP strategy from the start in order to continue their business as litigation against successful start-ups will pick up steam.
The current technology environment is defined by lawsuits and litigation which are influencing the market as firms take ever more stringent measures to protect their intellectual property.
Source: Gigaom
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