SMEs and Patent Litigation : Policy-Based Evidence Making?

The debate over patent enforcement in the UK centres on the expensive nature of patent litigation and its impact on the use of the patent system by SMEs. However, in a number of recent policy documents, there is little evidence for the denial of access to justice claims made. This paper introduces five assumptions about patent litigation and SMEs that permeate the current policy debate, including the equation of patent litigation to patent enforcement and the idea that inexpensive patent litigation is in public interest