During prepared remarks, Mr. Leibowitz said that if the F.T.C. decides to issue a complaint against Google, "our rules of administrative litigation will ensure Google a trial within eight months, much faster than in the federal district courts".
Instead, many of the recent changes to the rules of patent litigation — including fee shifting, new post-grant reviews of already-issued patents, and anti-patent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court — have raised significantly the costs to patent owners of stopping infringers.
Focusing on rules for the allocation of litigation costs, the American rule induces a higher level of optimism, as compared to the British rule.
In 1995 Congress, despite Bill Clinton's veto, changed the rules of class-action litigation, requiring the lead plaintiff to have a significant economic interest.
"We're setting these rules in a context of litigation, with Congress standing ready to make changes if it didn't like what we did," said Mr. Donovan, the current housing secretary.
And if the rules actually take effect years of litigation are considered inevitable they could significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide Americans add to the atmosphere every year.
They must cope with a deluge of murky new rules, respond to reams of litigation, reorganise mind-boggling capital structures, pacify anti-banker mobs (and anti-banker reporters), and cut compensation while artfully preserving their own perks.Put simply, says the head of one vast and troubled financial institution, risk must be reduced, liquidity increased and costs controlled.
The administration's move only injects uncertainty into emissions rules, given the inevitability of litigation.
Mr. Cavanaugh said he hoped that the matter could be resolved without legal action, but he did not rule out the possibility of litigation.
