Yesterday, Chief Judge Connolly issued new form scheduling orders for non-Hatch Waxman patent cases.
As always, they are worth reviewing in full, but here are some of the highlights.
Phased Trials
First and foremost, in cases where infringement is alleged, the new form scheduling order defaults to a phased trial with infringement first:
26. Willfulness and Damages. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties and the Court, the trial will be phased such that the issues of willful infringement and damages will be tried only if there is a finding of infringement.
We noted back in February that Judge Connolly had done this in one trial, and we wondered if it might become a trend. Turns …
