Stay Pending Inter Partes Review Granted Despite Earlier Denial of Stay Pending Reexamination

The court granted defendants' motions to stay pending inter partes review where the court had denied a stay pending reexamination the year before and had found that the stage of the case weighed against a stay. "In the Court's [decision last year] denying a stay, the Court noted that the early stage of litigation and lengthy process of reexamination weighed against a stay. The inputs and result of this comparison are different now: while the case has substantially progressed, the inter partes review promises to be a more expeditious process than reexamination and appears to be relatively close to completion. . . . [B]y the time case-dispositive motions are filed, the inter partes review is likely to be over. . . . [T]he Court believes, under the circumstances, it is appropriate to allow the inter partes review a reasonable period to conclude before launching the parties into the expense of expert discovery."

SoftView LLC v. Apple Inc., et. al., 1-10-cv-00389 (DED September 4, 2013, Order) (Stark, J.).