For Whom the Bell Tolls: The End of Rule 84 (and Form 18 Patent Pleading Standards)

December 1, 2015 marked the end of Rule 84 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the use of Forms, including various litigation documents, such as summonses, complaints, and answers in civil actions. Rule 84 was enacted in 1937 and simply stated, “The forms contained in the Appendix of Forms are intended to indicate, subject to the provisions of these rules, the simplicity and brevity of statement which the rules contemplate.” Rule 84 was amended in 1946 and 2007 to its current language, “The forms in the Appendix suffice under these rules and illustrate the simplicity and brevity that these rules contemplate.” But all good things must eventually come to an end. On April 29, 2015, the Supreme Court signed an order abrogating Rule 84, effective December 1, 2015.

Rule 84 and its Forms assisted many parties to bring suit under a simplified pleading as exemplified in Form 18. Using Form 18, a patent holder wishing to file a suit for direct patent infringement only needed to identify the infringing party, the infringed patent, the infringing device, and provide statements of jurisdiction and patent notice. Many have argued against the sufficiency of Form 18 based on the standard set out in Bell Atl. Corp. V. Twombly[1] and Ashcroft v. Iqbal.[2] Under Twombly and Iqbal, the Supreme Court held that to “survive a motion to dismiss a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’”[3] Further, “a claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”[4]

Nevertheless, the sufficiency of Form 18 has been upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in K-Tech Telecommunications, Inc. v. Time Warner Cable, Inc.[5] and In re Bill of Lading Transmission and Processing System Patent Litigation.[6] Specifically, the Federal Circuit stated in those cases that “a proper use of a form contained in the Appendix of Forms effectively immunizes a claimant from attack regarding the sufficiency of the pleading,”[7] and “to the extent the parties argue that Twombly and its progeny conflict with the Forms create differing pleadings requirements, the Forms control.”[8] This double standard has allowed a patent holder to file a “bare bones” complaint through the use of Form 18 and use discovery to fill in the details. While most “bet the company” litigation probably would not rely on a bare bones infringement complaint, the simplified pleadings benefitted smaller companies or solo inventors who did not have the same resources as larger companies. The abrogation of Rule 84 may make it more difficult and expensive for a small company / solo inventor to bring a suit against an infringer, perhaps even making it impossible.

With the abrogation of Rule 84 and subsequently Form 18, the default patent pleading standard will be the standard set out in Twombly and Iqbal. However, the amount and type of factual matter needed to allow the court to draw the “reasonable inference” or “plausibility” for liability remains unclear. Prior to K-Tech and Bill of Lading, the district courts already varied in their pleading standards.  For example, the District Court for the Central District of California in Medsquire LLC v. Spring Medical Systems Inc., et al.[9] dismissed a Form 18 complaint for failing to recite any facts as to how the accused device infringed the patent. The court stated, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter to make its allegations plausible.” Furthermore, the court in Medsquire alluded to a different standard required for pleadings drafted by attorneys as opposed to pleadings drafted by pro se plaintiffs.[10] In contrast, the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Traffic Information, LLC v. Yahoo! Inc.[11] held that “Twombly and Iqbal have not affected the adequacy of complying with Form 18.” Yet, even after K-Tech and Bill of Lading, the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Macronix International Co. Ltd. v. Spansion Inc.[12] dismissed a complaint for failing to meet the Twombly and Iqbal standards. The Macronix Court stated:

[B]efore filing a complaint, counsel must ascertain exactly what claims should alleged to be infringed and how they are infringed. That can be done with brevity and clarity if counsel know at the outset their theories of infringement and what can, and cannot, be said about allegedly infringing conduct.  That, in turn, may well, indeed likely will, require expert assistance. And, it will mean taking great care when crafting a succinct, but sufficient, patent complaint. But, that is not asking too much. Indeed, it is high time that counsel in patent cases do all of that work before filing a complaint.[13]

Additionally, the Federal Circuit in K-Tech alluded to a “sliding scale” standard based on the complexity of the case. Specifically, the K-Tech Court stated, “[t]he adequacy of the facts pled depends on the breadth and complexity of both the asserted patent and the accused product or system and on the nature of the defendant’s business activities.”[14] This opens the door for the Courts to implement their own standards. For example, the standard could vary depending on the technology field, claim type (e.g. composition, device, or method), or number of infringed claims. Some Courts could require infringement charts or other detailed analysis of the alleged infringement.

The patent pleading standards under Twombly and Iqbal in the aftermath of Rule 84’s abrogation will undoubtedly take years, if not decades, to develop. Until then, it would be prudent to do a little more homework before filing your patent infringement complaint, especially if you are filing in districts where the heightened pleading standards of Twombly and Iqbal have been applied to patent infringement complaints.

[1] Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007).
[2] Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009).
[3] Id. at 663.
[4] Id.
[5]K-Tech Telecommunications, Inc. v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., 714 F.3d 1277 (Fed. Cir. 2013).
[6] In re Bill of Lading Transmission and Processing System Patent Litigation, 681 F.3d 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2012).
[7] K-Tech, 714 F.3d at 1283.
[8] In re Bill of Lading, 681 F.3d at 1334.
[9] Medsquire LLC v. Spring Medical Systems Inc., et al., Case No. 2:11-cv-04504-JHN-PLA, Order granting Motion to dismiss, (C.D. Cal. August 31, 2011).
[10] Id. at 5. The Court stated, “McZeal dealt with a narrow circumstance, which is not at issue here: a lawsuit brought by a pro se plaintiff, who the Federal Circuit held to ‘less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.’”
[11] Traffic Info., LLC v. Yahoo! Inc., Case No. 2:09-CV-246-TJW-CE, Magistrate Judge Report and Recommendation (E.D. Tex. Apr. 13, 2010).
[12] Macronix International Co. Ltd. v. Spansion Inc., 4 F. Supp. 3d 797 (E.D. Va. Mar. 10, 2014).
[13] Id. at 803.
[14] K-Tech, 714 F.3dat 1287.