An extract of the doc, really important around settlement. (In the authors opinion).
A moderately complex patent litigation action in the US can easily cost a plaintiff/patentee $3.5 to $5 million to obtain a decision at trial (with as much as $2 to $3 million necessarily spent before reaching a point where a settlement may be favorably negotiated). (Attempts to pursue alternative US strategies, such as ITC actions, which had been proposed to reduce costs and accelerate decision times, have not proved to be satisfactory. In many cases the costs of an ITC action will exceed those of a court action and backlogs at the ITC have negated any perceived time advantages.)
In contrast, a similar moderately complex patent litigation action in Canada should cost a plaintiff/patentee $1 to $2 million to obtain a decision at trial (with perhaps $500,000 to $750,000 being spent before reaching a point where a settlement may be favorably negotiated.) As a settlement to a Canadian patent law suit will often result in the plaintiff and defendant reaching a settlement with global effect, these potential cost savings can be a significant benefit.
This is important... as the timeline for SNAP is known. All the documentation needs to be in place by end of Feb. The Pre-Trial court hearing (which we have the court date set for the beginning of May.). It is at this point both parties need to make a decision, they will both have a very good idea how this will play out, assuming SNAP knows the game is up, it is at this point they should start pleeding for a deal. ( The reverse if victory is unlikely would be for UAMA to walk away - dropping the FB case as well)
