Losing the Home-Team Advantage: The Supreme Court's Narrowing of the Doctrine of General Personal Jurisdiction and Its Impact on Patent Declaratory Judgment Actions

摘要

A recent Supreme Court opinion in a non-patent case, Daimler AG v. Bauman, likely will have a far-reaching impact on the prevalence of patent declaratory judgment actions. In the past, an accused patent infringer often could rely on the doctrine of general personal jurisdiction in order to bring a patent declaratory judgment action against a patent owner. But in Daimler, the Supreme Court narrowed the doctrine of general personal jurisdiction by requiring that a defendant must be "essentially at home" in the forum state for general personal jurisdiction to apply. The Court's ruling in Daimler may significantly curtail the ability of accused infringers to bring declaratory judgment actions in their home districts due to lack of personal jurisdiction over patent owners. As the perceived "home-team advantage" is a major reason why accused infringers file first-strike patent declaratory judgment actions in their home districts, Daimler ultimately may result in reduced filings of such actions.