S.D. Cal. Patent L.R. 3.5 — Disclosure Requirements in Patent Cases for Declaratory Relief: the court's own rule, verbatim from United States District Court Southern District of California LOCAL RULES (Revised as of: June 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
a. Invalidity Contentions if No Claim of Infringement. In all cases in which a party files a complaint or other pleading seeking a declaratory judgment that a patent is not infringed, is invalid, or is unenforceable, Patent Local Rules 3.1 and 3.2 will not apply unless and until a claim for patent infringement is made by a party. If the defendant does not assert a claim for patent infringement in answer to the complaint, no later than fourteen (14) days after the Initial Case Management Conference the party seeking a declaratory judgment must serve upon each opposing party Invalidity Contentions that conform to Patent L.R. 3.3 and produce or make available for inspection and copying the documents described in Patent L.R. 3.4. b. Inapplicability of Rule. This Patent L.R. 3.5 does not apply to cases in which a request for declaratory judgment that a patent is not infringed, is invalid, or is unenforceable, is filed in response to a complaint for infringement of the same patent.
a. Invalidity Contentions if No Claim of Infringement. In all cases in which a party files a complaint or other pleading seeking a declaratory judgment that a patent is not infringed, is invalid, or is unenforceable, Patent Local Rules 3.1 and 3.2 will not apply unless and until