U.S. Court in Texas Leaps Past L.A. in New Patent Cases

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A rural federal court district in Texas has replaced the Los Angeles federal court district as the epicenter of new patent cases.

Judges in the Eastern District of Texas, based in Tyler population 100,000 made the court system friendlier to patent plaintiffs by establishing guidelines and setting speedier trials, sometimes within a year.

In Los Angeles federal courts, there are no uniform rules so patent cases can vary depending on the judge assigned to the case. And litigating a patent case in Los Angeles could take years.

The results of the reform in Texas have been remarkable.

Last year, 307 patent cases were filled in the federal court’s Central District of California. But 368 cases were filed in Eastern District of Texas in 2007.

While the number of patent cases in Los Angeles has risen steadily in recent years, according to local patent litigators, these gains have been outpaced by the Texas district because the word has gotten out and it has become the preferred venue among patent-holders bringing infringement lawsuits.

According to LegalMetric, a legal data and analysis company, the Eastern District of Texas now has one of the largest patent litigation dockets.

“There are a tremendous number of filings by patent-holders in the Eastern District and the courts there have become very familiar to patent litigators in Los Angeles and all over the country,” said Victor de Gyarfas, a Los Angeles-based patent litigator at Foley & Lardner LLP. De Gyarfas has traveled to Tyler for case matters in the Eastern District federal court.

The Central District of California has historically been home to the largest number of new patent cases, more than in Chicago, Manhattan and the Bay Area.

“Our firm is litigating a large number of patent cases in the Eastern District of Texas,” said Rich de Bodo, a Century City-based attorney who heads the West Coast intellectual property practice at Hogan & Hartson LLP. “Right now, I have more patent cases there than in the Central District of California.”

The shift isn’t draining business away from local patent attorneys because they routinely try cases all over the country, and the number of local patent cases has continued to rise. The 307 cases filed in the Central District in L.A. last year were up from 280 in 2006.


Technology hub

Patent cases have played a big role in Southern California law due to the region’s role as a manufacturing and technology hub. Plus there is the Central District’s sheer size: It covers a population area of over 17 million.

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. notes that the Los Angeles region is the nation’s number one manufacturing center, with over 900,000 jobs in the sector.

Patent attorneys say that this manufacturing dominance, along with the presence of technology centers in the district such as Orange County, has been a main reason why Los Angeles federal courts routinely saw the largest number of patent disputes.

“There are not as many large manufacturing companies in Southern California as there once was, but there are still many midsize manufacturing companies willing to enforce their patents,” de Gyarfas said.

Allan Jansen, a local patent litigator at Greenberg Traurig LLP, added that the region’s role in patent litigation is a result of its history of innovation. “The Central District status when it comes to patent litigation is based on Southern California being at the forefront of advancing technology,” Jansen said.

But the Eastern District in Texas has developed its patent expertise almost as its own industry, and not as an outgrowth of the local economy.

In 2005, judges in the Eastern District adopted uniform rules, which makes the litigation process more predictable for attornies. For example, motions must meet set target dates, whereas in Los Angeles and other federal courts, those dates could be set at a judge’s discretion.

The changes have been reinforced by jury verdicts in favor of plaintiffs.

Companies that have been sued in the district last year include, Apple Inc., Netflix Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

In 2004, only 84 patent cases were filed in the Eastern District of Texas, but by 2006 that number had risen to 263.

But some attorneys are doubtful that Texas’ popularity as a patent litigation venue would continue unabated because of the court’s heavy docket. Also, appeal court rulings could dampen the perceived advantage of plaintiffs who file there.

“I think the number will change in the not too distant future and the Central District of California will again take the lead,” Jansen said.

While it lost the numbers race this year, there were several high profile patent cases in the Central District last year, such as the Qualcomm Inc. and Irvine-based Broadcom Corp., in which the latter was awarded more than $19 million by a jury.

And there was other promising news in a report by LegalMertic, the Central District of California was listed among the five fastest districts when it comes to resolving patent infringement disputes; the Eastern District in Texas did not make the top five.

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