Streamlining Patent Cases in the Rocket Docket: Tecsec v. IBM

Tecsec has sued 13 defendants, including IBM, Oracle, and others, for alleged infringement of 11 patents related to encryption techniques.  The case is pending in the Alexandria Division, before Judge Brinkema.  Once all of the defendants filed their Answers, the Court issued a typical scheduling order for the Alexandria Division, with a final pretrial scheduled for just under four months from the Rule 16(b) Scheduling Conference.  Concerned with the possibility of completing discovery on 11 patents asserted against 13 defendants in less than four months, especially when the parties contemplated as many as 800 hours of fact-witness depositions, the defendants moved for a two-month extension of the discovery schedule.  In response to the motion, the Court issued an Order which contemplated permitting the litigation to proceed against only one defendant, and staying all other claims pending the outcome.  Tecsec opposed the Court’s suggestion.  Ultimately, the Court entered the extension to the schedule, and did not indicate that it would proceed against only one defendant.  In response to the Court’s request at the hearing to provide means to streamline the case, Tecsec then filed a motion for a case management order, which includes a number of means by which Tecsec has agreed to narrow the case, including by limiting the number of claims asserted and the number of claim terms for construction. 

See here and here for discussions of the case and the relevant technology.