Juries in Complex Intellectual Property Cases
| Publication year | 1994 |
| Pages | 1829 |
1994, August, Pg. 1829. Juries in Complex Intellectual Property Cases
In the last fifteen years, particularly following the decisions in In re Japanese Electronic Products Antitrust Litigation(fn1) and In re United States Financial Securities Litigation,(fn2) there has been a continuing debate regarding the use of juries in complex civil litigation. This debate has carried over into complex patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property and technology cases. This article provides a brief look at both sides of the debate, with the primary goal of providing the intellectual property litigator with the tools to determine in which cases a jury may or may not be appropriate.
The more recent analysis, by the U.S. Supreme Court, regarding the appropriateness of juries stems from the language contained in a footnote in Ross v. Bernard.(fn3) The focus of Ross was not on the appropriateness of juries in complex cases, but the language contained in its footnote ten has been picked up in academic debate and by litigants and courts in arguing the appropriateness of juries in certain complex litigation.(fn4) Footnote ten expounds on the right to a jury trial as guaranteed by the Seventh Amendment and sets forth three factors to be used in determining whether a claim is "legal" (as opposed to equitable) in nature.
It is the third factor, the "practical abilities and limitations of the jury," that has become the focus of the debate. Depending on the commentator or judge, the third prong of footnote ten was either an invitation from the Supreme Court to limit the availability of juries in complex litigation or merely an afterthought that the Supreme Court never intended to be interpreted as limiting the right to a jury trial.
Generally, discussions regarding the efficacy of juries in complex litigation are based in three areas: constitutional issues, historical analysis and practical considerations. Because a discussion of each of these areas, particularly the first two, are lengthy and involved, they will only be briefly reviewed here. Instead, the practical considerations regarding the use of juries in complex patent, copyright and technology cases should be the primary focus of the intellectual property practitioner.
The constitutional right to a jury trial is found in the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides in pertinent part that "in Suits at common law ... the right of trial by jury shall be preserved...." The right to a jury trial in federal district courts is also...
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