West Texas Was Q1’s Top Patent Venue as Judge Stark Left Delaware for the Federal Circuit

In Q1 2022, the Western District of Texas was once again the most popular district for all patent litigation and for litigation filed by NPEs. Delaware held a close second place in both of those categories, taking the number-one spot for operating company litigation. The Eastern District of Texas was the third most popular for NPE litigation and litigation overall but dropped to fifth place for operating company plaintiffs.

On March 11, the District of Delaware lost its most experienced active district judge when Leonard P. Stark was elevated to the Federal Circuit, replacing retiring Circuit Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley. Judge Stark is now the only active judge on the Federal Circuit bench with experience as a trial judge, a status previously held by Judge O’Malley: As highlighted during his Senate confirmation hearing, Judge Stark has presided over 63 trials held in patent infringement lawsuits in the nearly 14 years he served in Delaware, during which time he oversaw more than 2,400 such cases. Judge Stark testified that his experience managing so many patent suits will inform his work on the Federal Circuit: “The technology is always complex, the facts are very challenging. Patent litigators often disagree with each other, so I estimate that in a typical patent case that goes to trial I make many hundreds of decisions, or even more than 1,000, and typically only a handful of those issues get appealed to the Federal Circuit, so I’ll bring an understanding of the context in which those issues arise”.

Judge Stark is President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s second nominee to the Federal Circuit—and the second with experience in patent law—following the July 2021 confirmation of Circuit Judge Tiffany P. Cunningham, an experienced patent litigator and former Perkins Coie partner.

On April 13, President Biden nominated Fox Rothschild partner Gregory B. Williams—also an experienced patent litigator—to fill the vacancy left by Judge Stark. The state’s two US senators, Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.), issued an endorsement that same day touting his “broad federal court experience, including with intellectual property and corporate law”. Williams, who has served as a special master for the District of Delaware since 2020, is also a former president of the Delaware State Bar association.

See RPX’s first-quarter review for more on this and other trends impacting patent litigation and the patent marketplace.