Will All Roads Still Lead to the Eastern District of Texas? Transfer Practice After Volkswagen and TS Tech

摘要

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has in recent years been an attractive forum for patent holders to bring infringement suits. This has been true in part due to the court's local patent rules and its determination to keep cases on tight schedules. It is also true in part because judges in that district have often decided not to transfer lawsuits to what defendants argue are more convenient venues, even when the key events, evidence, and witnesses are alleged to be located far from Texas. In two appellate opinions issued at the end of last year, the US Court of Appeals for both the Fifth and Federal Circuits sparked discussion about whether the holdings of those cases would make it easier for defendants to meet the burdens necessary to transfer cases from the Eastern District.