Civil jurors in a Los Angeles court are using special iPads to review admitted trial exhibits during the trial. As I observed in a KPCC interview about iPads in court, I expect to see more iPads in coming years in the hands of judges, attorneys and jurors. The iPad is a great, easy-to-use tool for presenting and consuming content (which is exactly what happens in courts). This post includes a demonstration of a custom-made iPad app made to illustrate a patent. My partner, Morgan Smith, has written many posts about iPads, and their advantages for attorneys. The iPad allows an attorney to easily control a slide presentation projected onto a courtroom screen for the judge or jury. Using an app such as TrialPad or Trial Director for iPad allows an attorney to present documents, deposition video and other evidence on the screen.

At the 2014 annual meeting of the San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association, SFIPLA, a panel of judges shared their experiences and reflections on what works and what doesn't work in a courtroom, and how to connect with juries and judges in patent trials and hearings.

Litigation would be much easier if you could work on just one case at a time, and if each case moved quickly to a conclusion. Unfortunately, litigators don't have that luxury. Litigators need to jump from case to case, putting out fires in one, then jumping to the next. Because litigation can span years, litigators often need to return to information and analysis done weeks, months or even years ago. In years of litigating big, complicated cases with these challenges, I've used a number of tricks to put key information and documents a couple of clicks away. In today's blog post, I'll share a few of those tips in the context of a patent case (for non-patent litigators, you may still find some of these tips of value).

Good animations can make difficult patent language and complicated patent diagrams come to life. An animation can make a bored judge or juror wake up, pay attention and engage with your argument. For example, in defending a patent case, animating the simple and limited scope of what is actually described in the patents can be very important. Thus, an animation […]

For your next trial or important hearing, you should seriously consider using an e-brief to help the judge (and the judge's clerk) navigate and understand your argument. Cogent Legal recently helped a team of patent litigators prepare for and present at a combined summary judgment and claim construction hearing. E-briefs were an important part of that presentation to the court. If you've ever tried to read a 4-foot stack of summary judgment briefing in paper form, you may appreciate the utility of an easy-to-use electronic copy on your computer that lets you jump back and forth between argument, evidence and authority. Giving the judge and the clerk the ability to easily explore and understand your argument in chambers using your e-brief can be the key to success (particularly when your e-brief is submitted with an electronic copy of your hearing presentation).