21.   Moreover, the Federal Circuit Court rulings could either curb or accelerate the growing trend for patent disputes to be decided in jury trials.

22.   Other companies have issued securities that derived their value from the outcome of pending litigation, including patent disputes.

23.   Patent disputes can involve the methods used to conduct business over the Internet, not just the material being sold.

24.   PayPal is in the middle of another patent dispute with Tumbleweed Communications, an online security company in Redwood City, Calif.

25.   Patent disputes can indeed drag on for years.

26.   Sangstat Medical Corp., another bellwether in Fremont, has bounced up and down, driven by patent disputes clouding the future of its newest drug.

27.   The company attributed the jump to regulatory delays and legal fees from patent disputes, not to its arrangement with a supplier.

28.   The deal reached Wednesday ended the patent dispute between the companies.

29.   The company argues that it is not compelled by the antitrust laws to reveal proprietary information to customers who could exploit that information in subsequent patent disputes.

30.   The drug companies deny that their agreements violate the antitrust laws, presenting them as private preliminary settlements between companies engaged in patent disputes.