As the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold in the U.S., a patent dispute between Centripetal Networks Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. changed course. The companies gave up on the idea of a jury trial, choosing instead to try their case in front of the judge.
The virus outbreak continues to disrupt courts, with widespread postponement of jury trials. Cisco and Centripetal’s dispute is an example of companies choosing an alternative route and pushing ahead with a bench trial in a high-stakes case with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line.
Bench trials can offer a speedier—and, in some ...