Fed. Cir. Permits Funding Probes in Delaware Patent Cases (1)

The Federal Circuit declined to halt a Delaware judge’s probe into the financing of patent litigation in his court, saying the requested disclosures don’t appear frivolous.

The move allows US District of Delaware Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly to continue pursuing information about the funding sources behind a handful of infringement cases—the sort that proliferate in one of the nation’s top patent-dispute venues.

“The district court did not seek information simply in order to serve an interest in public awareness, independent of the adjudicatory and court-functioning interests reflected in the stated concerns,” the Federal Circuit wrote in a Thursday order. ...