(a) Consistent with the local rules of this Court and General Order No. 25, upon the
filing in or removal or transfer to this Court of an action which falls within the
scope of these rules, the Court will schedule a Rule 16 conference to be conducted
by the magistrate judge assigned to the case. That conference may be held in-
person or by telephone, depending upon the practices of the particular magistrate
judge assigned.
(b) At least twenty-one (21) days prior to the scheduled Rule 16 conference the
parties must confer, in person or by telephone, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) to
formulate a discovery plan and to address the following topics:
(1) Proposed modification of the obligations or deadlines set forth in these
local patent rules to ensure that they are suitable for the circumstances of
the particular case;
(2) The scope and timing of any claim construction discovery, including
disclosure of and discovery from any expert witness permitted by the
Court;
(3) The format of the claim construction hearing, including whether the Court
will hear live testimony, the order of presentation, and the estimated
length of the hearing;
(4) How the parties intend to educate the Court with respect to the patent(s) at
issue; and
(5) The need for alteration of the standard confidentiality order to supercede
that which would otherwise be entered by the court pursuant to Local
Patent Rule 2.2.
(c) Not later than fourteen (14) days prior to the scheduled Rule 16 conference the
parties shall jointly submit a Civil Case Management Plan, in the form of that
approved by the Court pursuant to General Order No. 25, completed to address
the various issues raised in that form, based upon the parties’ discussions during
their Rule 26(f) meeting.
(d) One of the topics to be addressed at the Rule 16 conference is the timing and
scope of mandatory disclosures required pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1).
Among the disclosures which ordinarily must be made pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1)
in cases covered by these rules is information and documentation regarding proof
of patent ownership or standing to assert patent infringement claims.
(e) Following the initial conference conducted by the Court pursuant to Fed. R. Civ.
P. 16, the assigned magistrate judge may, in his or her discretion, schedule and
conduct such further status conferences, either telephonically or in person, as
deemed appropriate. It is contemplated that such a conference may be conducted
within sixty (60) to ninety (90) days following the initial Rule 16 conference, and
that during that conference the parties will be asked to discuss what efforts, if any,
they have made to attempt to settle the case and how the Court may assist their
settlement efforts such as, for example, by scheduling a settlement conference or
ordering mediation.
