IEEE Spectrum November, 2013 - 54

results and, if necessary, corrects them, and then an engineer tweaks
the algorithms [see illustration, "How the 'law Machine' works"].
the result is "this ontology of terms that has been developed
over the years" and continues to be refined every night, when the
system crawls the web to collect the latest data, says owen byrd,
lex Machina's chief evangelist and general counsel. so far, the company has coded more than 6 million docket entries.

bringing generic drugs to market. Introducing new drugs is a
highly structured and litigious process, with specific time limits for each step, so knowing the history of a judge-in particular,
how fast cases move through his or her court-is critical, says
Huong nguyen, senior director of IP at Impax (and an adviser to
lex Machina).
nguyen also uses the database to look up the litigation history
of the maker of a brand-name drug to find out which attorneys it
uses and how successful they've been in defending their patent
ex MaCHIna's database Is aVaIlable to anyone
who can afford its annual fee. the pharmaceutical com- positions. and she uses the database to evaluate outside counsel:
pany Impax laboratories uses it to guide its strategy for she can see how many cases they're working on at any given time
and which cases they have won or lost, not
only for her company but for other clients
as well. "we have a stable of outside counsel
that we go to constantly," she says. "I want
to know what kind of job performance they
have across the board."
john dragseth, a principal at fish & richardson (the most active IP litigation firm in
the united states, according to Corporate
Counsel magazine), credits lex Machina's
database with helping him spot meaningful but other wise hidden trends in IP litigation-and he won't give details. "If you
published it, then people on the other side
would know," he says.
COME TO MIT FOR A WEEK
typically, dragseth says, when he reSHORT PROGRAMS
views cases with clients, "they just nod
Register for a 2 - 5 day intensive course and gain critical knowledge
their heads." but when he starts reeling off
to help advance your career and impact your company's success.
statistics like how a particular judge tends
Earn CEUs and a certificate of completion.
to rule in certain types of cases, "they lean
forward, put their elbows on the table, and
COME TO MIT FOR A SEMESTER
start asking questions," he says. "Clients go
ADVANCED STUDY PROGRAM
crazy about that stuff."
Enroll in regular MIT courses through this non-matriculating, nonIt's not just about the bottom line, though.
degree program. Participate on a full or part-time basis for one or more
lex Machina gives its data, at no charge, to
semesters. Earn grades, MIT credit, and a certificate of completion.
courts, government agencies, academic
institutions, and media outlets. that's an
BRING MIT TO YOU
important part of fulfilling the mission
CUSTOM PROGRAMS
of lemley's original research project:
Enhance your organization's capabilities and expertise
improving the legal system.
through customized programs tailored to meet your specific
"In the short term, people will think more
needs and priorities.
intelligently about whether to file suit or
when they get sued, how to react: what lawyer should they hire? should they settle the
case early?" says lemley. ultimately, he
says, people will be able to make informed
To learn more about what MIT Professional Education
decisions, not just in individual lawsuits
can offer you and your company, visit us today at:
but also in shaping policy and in bringing
http://professionaleducation.mit.edu/ieee2013
badly needed reform to the patent system.
"My hope is that once everyone has access
to the data, some number of lawsuits will
go away." n

YOUR DOOR TO MIT
EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE

TRAINING & EDUCATION FOR PROFESSIONALS

poSt your CoMMENtS at http://spectrum.
ieee.org/lexmachina1113
54

nOv 2013

nORTh aMERICan

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum November, 2013