USA – CALIFORNIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Michelle E. Armond, Douglas R. Wilson, Monica M. Arnold and Amy Han, Armond Wilson LLP
However, this trend may not last long. In April 2026, the Patent Office announced “a new process” for patent owners to submit pre-order papers explaining why a re-examination request does not establish a substan- tial new question of patentability and thus should not be ordered. See Pre - order Procedure regarding Sub- stantial New Question determination in ex parte reex- amination proceedings , https://www.uspto.gov/sites/ default/files/documents/og-preorder-snq-apr2026. pdf (last visited 16 June 2026). This new policy may herald that the Patent Office’s IPR retrenchment may soon impact re-examination as well. Expanding global interest in California and US patent litigation Patent litigation continues to attract special interest because of the steady headlines of large jury verdicts in patent cases. Over the past two years, many plain- tiffs, including non-practising entities, have celebrated nine- or ten-figure damages awards. For example, Netlist obtained a USD445 million ver- dict against Micron in 2024, which was largely con- firmed on appeal. Yet the USD874 million jury verdict in General Access Solutions v Verizon evaporated dur- ing post-trial motions when the verdict was vacated. Indeed, data from Unified Patents found lawsuits brought by non-practising entities show that “district court filings jumped 21.6% in 2025 compared to 2024”, compared to only a 12% jump in overall patent case filings. See Patent Dispute Report : 2025 in Review , https://www.unifiedpatents.com/insights/2026/1/13/ patent-dispute-report-2025-in-review (last visited 16 June 2026). Attracted by potential returns, the landscape of US patent cases has been transformed over the past decade by the arrival of outside investors and pri- vate equity funding patent lawsuits, seeking returns independent of stock market performance and oth- er investments. This interest is now global, with the reported participation of international investors and sovereign wealth funds. As the economic outlook dims, we expect established domestic and international companies to also mon- etise their US patent portfolios in an effort to bolster
their economic performance. This will lead to increas- es in patent litigation in California and elsewhere. Design patents on the rise Industrial design only continues to grow in importance among California’s innovators. The past ten years have seen continued growth in design patent filings. Just a decade ago, Patent Office data showed just over 40,000 design patent applications were filed with it in fiscal year 2016. That number has grown signifi- cantly to over 65,000 design patent applications filed in 2025 alone. See Design Data May 2026 , https:// www.uspto.gov/dashboard/patents/design.html (last visited 16 June 2026). This sustained interest in design patents has also gained traction at the appellate level. In 2024, the Federal Circuit issued its first en banc decision in a design patent case in more than a decade. Sixteen years after the Federal Circuit’s 2008 Egyptian Goddess decision, the court’s 2024 opinion in LKQ Corporation v GM Global Technology overturned its long-standing strict Rosen - Durling decision and held that design patent obviousness must be evaluated under the more flexible standard articulated by the Supreme Court in KSR . Although LKQ potentially unlocked a broader set of prior art for design patents, the decision nonetheless coincided with an explosion of new design patent cases. In 2023, the year before the LKQ decision, 155 design patent infringement cases were filed nation- wide. Yet that number jumped by over 250% to 564 new case filings in 2024. The trend largely held in 2025, which saw 455 new case filings involving design patents. Changes at the Patent Appeals Court The last two years have also seen changes at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sitting in Washington, DC. The Federal Circuit has nationwide jurisdiction over certain specific areas of law, includ- ing all patent appeals from federal courts and admin- istrative agencies. As a result, appeals from patent cases filed in all California federal courts are heard by the Federal Circuit, and not the regional Ninth Circuit
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