Shutdown Could Disrupt A Number Of ITC Patent Cases

Sturgis Sobin is quoted in Law360 regarding the government shutdown’s effect on U.S. International Trade Commission cases. Mr. Sobin says, “It’s unfortunate for a complainant that has worked hard to keep its case moving forward and came to the ITC because of the speed of the process, but it is the reality that we are looking at right now.” He adds, Overall, for cases that are not in the very early stage of the process, it is highly likely that they will have wholly new schedules set and more than likely will see the schedule pushed out. By how much may depend [judge by judge] in terms of what they can do with their schedule.”

He questioned if investigations with statutory deadlines will get pushed to the front of the line once the government reopens, while patent cases take a backseat. “In that sense, it’s not just delays that are the natural result of losing this much time within the [patent] part of the docket.