I very much appreciated reading the Law Journal's assessment of the Southern District's Patent Pilot Program as it turns one year old. Robert Gunther and Omar Khan of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr wrote an impressively comprehensive article, "Patent Pilot Program, One Year Later," about the court's effort to streamline patent litigation (NYLJ, Jan. 7). However, I would be remiss if I did not make one correction: the authors write that "the SDNY has resisted the national trend toward local rules specifically tailored to patent cases." In fact, the SDNY recently adopted a set of Local Patent Rules and is currently seeking public comment. A copy of those rules can be found on the court's website at www.nysd.uscourts.gov, and a link to the rules is available at the Law Journal's website at http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/courtNotes.jsp.
Loretta A. Preska
The author is chief judge of the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York.
