Each year PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC)conducts studies on patents and patent litigation, where the organization analyzes statistics relating to "hot" topics of patent law. This year PwC looked at nonpracticing entities (NPEs - companies that do not design, manufacture, or distribute products) and their effect on litigation.

The study found that, adjusting for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the annual median damage award has ranged from $2.2 million to $10.6 million, with a median award of $4.4 million over the last 14 years. Overall, this statistic has been more-or-less consistent during this time.

However, damage awards for NPEs have risen considerably in recent years. In fact, the median damages award for NPEs was more than triple the award for practicing entities over the last seven years ($12 million for NPEs, and $3.4 million for practicing entities). Contrasted with 1995-2001, the median damages award for NPEs was about the same when compared with practicing entities (roughly $5 million).

One obvious explanation could be that NPEs have become more sophisticated in selecting patents to litigate, and understanding the markets to sue against. However, another explanation may have something to do with the use of jury trials - juries decided only 14 percent of the cases with damages awards during the 1980s and 24 percent during the 1990s. In this decade, juries have decided 51 percent of the cases with damages awards.

NPEs like juries - trial success rates for patent holders are much higher when decided by juries as compared to bench trials. In fact, jury success rates have consistently outperformed their bench counterparts every year since 1995. Since 1995, 55 percent of trials involving NPEs have been jury trials, as compared to only 41 percent of trials involving practicing entities. In addition to the rate of success at trial, recent awards by juries have been significantly greater, running several multiples of the amounts awarded by judges.

Success rates at trial for NPEs and practicing entities are quite good - 67.4% of NPEs and 65.8% of practicing entities. However, summary judgment is much more brutal, especially for NPEs, which only have an 11.9% success rate. Overall, NPEs are successful 29% of the time versus 41% for practicing entities.

The median time-to-trial in US district courts has remained steady,at just over two years (2.11) from the complaint date to trial, even as the volume of cases has increased substantially.

The most "patent friendly" jurisdictions (considering time-to-trial + overall success rate + median damage award) for 2009 were:

1 Virginia Eastern District Court
2 Texas Eastern District Court
3 Delaware District Court
4 Wisconsin Western District Court
5 California Central District Court
6 Florida Middle District Court
7 Texas Southern District
8 New Jersey District Court
9 Colorado District Court
10 Texas Northern District Court
10 Ohio Northern District Court (tie)
12 California Northern District Court
12 New York Southern District Court (tie)
14 Illinois Northern District Court
15 Minnesota District Court
15 Massachusetts District Court (tie)
17 Florida Southern District Court
18 Michigan Eastern District Court
19 Pennsylvania Eastern District Court
20 Connecticut District Court