10.14 Key challenges and efforts to improve patent case management
As the foregoing exploration of U.S. patent case management reveals, the U.S. patent review and enforcement system comprises a complex and overlapping patchwork of institutions, actors, and rules. The United States has been experimenting with a wide range of institutional and doctrinal mechanisms aimed at improving the functioning of the system. Although tremendous progress has been made in improving patent case management through procedural innovation, judicial education, and legislative reform, there remain significant challenges. Substantive law confusion (notably the patent eligibility requirement), district judge forum shopping, parallel proceedings, and gaps in scientific and technical expertise plague U.S. patent litigation, contributing to the high cost, complexity, and delay in resolving patent disputes.