A Blog About Intellectual Property Litigation and the District of Delaware


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Wilmington, DE Andrew Russell, CC BY 2.0

Markman briefing is often especially dense and time-consuming to absorb, and so traditionally each of the judges has had their own special procedures for Markman briefing set forth in their respective form scheduling orders.

With the additions of Judge Connolly and Noreika to the Delaware bench, however, a consensus formed around Judge Andrews' procedures—with four rounds of briefs that are served but not filed and then incorporated into a joint brief for the Court's review. Judge Stark is now the lone outcast, with his preference for 2 rounds of simultaneous briefing filed with the Court, a procedure that has been enshrined in his form scheduling order since at least 2014.

Apparently that procedure is not long for this world however, as Chief Judge Stark issued an order in InterDigital Technology Corporation et al v. Lenovo Holding Company, Inc. et al, C.A. No, 19-1590-LPS, D.I. 81 (D. Del Jan. 28, 2021), stating that his "general practice (consistent with the other Judges of this District) is now to receive only a joint claim construction brief (that typically follows the serial exchange of four non-concurrent briefs)."

Although Judge Stark has not updated his forms, a brief review of his scheduling orders from at least the beginning of 2020 shows a mix of orders following the old and new procedures, with a slight majority following the the new "general practice."

So keep this in mind when submitting scheduling orders for Judge Stark going forward, and watch for a potential change to his form order in the not-so-distant future.

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