Increasing intellectual property litigation

Yes, it is a press release but getting statistics on litigation is a bit tricky. It does seem to agree with what I am seeing of increased opinions from the Indiana Court of Appeals on trade secrets and third party interference with contracts. With those caveats, here is the news:

Intellectual Property Litigation Threatens a Growing Array of Companies
Friday February 9, 10:19 am ET

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to research conducted by IncreMental Advantage, companies in a growing array of industries face potentially ruinous litigation relating to intellectual property. David Wanetick, Managing Director of IncreMental Advantage and Chief Intellectual Property Officer, said, "Sources of Intellectual Property litigation include attacks by patent trolls, disputes over licensing issues, business methods patent violations, counterfeiting and disclosures of trade secrets."

Trends in Intellectual Property litigation include:

• The number of intellectual property lawsuits soared almost three-fold from the beginning of the 1980s to the end of the 1990s.
• From 1984 to 1999, the median loss absorbed by companies faced with IP litigation was $2.9 million and the mean loss was $28.7 million in total losses.

These issues will be more fully discussed at IncreMental Advantage's Intellectual Property Litigation Conference which will be held in New York City on February 28.