Patent Infringement Lawsuit Transferred away from Eastern District of Texas

Recently, a patent infringement lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas was transferred to the Northern District of Texas.[1] While this news may seem hardly ground-breaking, this may signal that courts are becoming more willing to transfer patent infringement cases away from the Eastern District of Texas. A previous blog article illuminated the current dispute in patent law regarding the proper venue in which infringement lawsuits can be filed. The Supreme Court is currently hearing the case of TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Food Brands Group LLC, which is likely to decide the proper interpretation of the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b). The underlying debate focuses on complaints that patent infringement Plaintiffs engage in “forum shopping” by overwhelmingly choosing to file lawsuits in the Eastern District of Texas, which has long been considered a patent Plaintiff friendly court. The Supreme Court heard oral argument for this case on March 27, 2017.[2] Thus, a ruling is expected within the next several months.

Although the Eastern District of Texas in Securityprofiling, LLC did not mention the TC Heartland LLC case, this case was transferred to the Northern District of Texas despite the fact that there was a total of two pending cases between the parties in the Eastern District of Texas and that Plaintiff’s principal place of business is currently located within the Eastern District of Texas.[3] The ruling in Securityprofiling, LLC begs the question of whether more courts will be willing to transfer cases from the Eastern District of Texas while a ruling from the Supreme Court in TC Heartland LLC remains pending. Our firm will be monitoring the status of the Supreme Court’s ruling in TC Heartland LLC and its potential impact. Please contact our office if you have any questions regarding the information in this article.

Daniel Devine, Esq.
Santucci Priore, P.L.
Partner

[1] See, Securityprofiling, LLC v. Trend Micro America, Inc. et. al., No. 16-CV-1165-RWS-JDL at Docket Entry No. 62 (E.D. Tex. May 12, 2017).
[2] http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/tc-heartland-llc-v-kraft-foods-group-brands-llc/
[3] See, Securityprofiling, LLC, No. No. 16-CV-1165-RWS-JDL at Docket Entry No. 62.

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