U.S. Patent Litigation Juries and a Solution for Improving Jury Comprehension

Abstract

The right to a trial by jury is a basic and fundamental feature of American federal jurisprudence, protected by the Seventh Amendment. Over the past several decades, patent litigation has gone through several transformations in an effort to resolve disputes fairly and efficiently. The Apple-Samsung trial increased the publicity of high profile patent litigation cases and provoked skepticism from legal scholars on the validity of the current patent litigation system. Judge Richard Posner mistrusted judges’ and jurors’ abilities to decide complex patent cases effectively. Judge Posner, and others, argue that it’s time to end jury trials in patent cases. However, improvements can be made to the current patent litigation system without eliminating patent jury trials. This article focuses on the current U.S. patent litigation system, patent litigation systems in other countries, current revisions to improve U.S. patent litigation trials, and proposes a mixed jury solution to ensure jurors fully understand the complex and technical facts of a patent case.