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→Discovery Stay
The act establishes that a claim construction ruling must occur prior to discovery. <ref name="patentlyoIA" /> Discovery is a process that occurs pre-trial in a civil action, a conflict between two private parties, and is defined by the federal government as any party's right to obtain relevant information for the trial. A claim construction ruling is a critical step in ruling on the validity of a patent and whether infringement has occurred. Claim construction defines exactly what a patent includes and the extent to which a patent holder can protect the subject matter. <ref name="claimconstruction" /> The provisions also specify that claim construction previously agreed upon in another court must hold when a patent claim is reviewed by the USPTO. <ref name="patentlyoIA" />
Courts do not have to stay, or haltsuspend, discovery pending preliminary motion if both parties consent, the patent holder is awarded a preliminary injunction, or the case is transferred, dismissed, severed, or a party drops out of the case. <ref name="govtracksummary" /> A preliminary injunction forces a party to stop the actions supposedly infringing the patent prior to the court's finally ruling. Severing a lawsuit means separating the lawsuit into several parts or deciding a case on an individual basis if there are multiple defendants. Drugs and biological products may also be subject to exemption.<ref name="govtracksummary" />
Additional documents may not be disclosed unless the party requesting them covers the costs of discovery and all parties consent to discovery. <ref name="patentlyoIA" /> By enabling courts to limit discovery, the act intends to reduce litigation costs and targets patent trolls intending to settle a case quickly and early on by making use of information revealed in discovery. <ref name="innovationactsummary" />
