Stat Of The Week: The Location Of Patent Litigation
The Eastern District of Texas is still king of the hill for patent cases.
Patent litigation has seen some upheaval over the past few years, due to changes in both statutory and case law. And more change could be on the way, as the Supreme Court mulls over TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, concerning proper venue in patent cases.
Defendants are hoping for SCOTUS to limit the ability of plaintiffs to file cases in the Eastern District of Texas, a jurisdiction regarded by defendants as too plaintiff-friendly. But based on oral arguments in the case, it’s not clear that the justices will grant defendants’ wish. Writing for SCOTUSblog, Professor Ronald Mann noted “the general lack of interest among the justices in the horror stories about the concentration of venue in the Eastern District of Texas.”
Does the Eastern District of Texas continue to get lots of patent cases? Yes — about a third of all cases filed in the first quarter of 2017, according to Lex Machina:
For additional interesting data, including the volume of first-quarter patent filings, see Lex Machina.
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
