West Texas Was the Top Patent Venue in 2020—as Judge Albright Sparred with the Federal Circuit

In 2020, the Western District of Texas was the most popular venue for overall patent litigation (i.e., with no filter for plaintiff type) and for litigation filed by NPEs, also taking third place for operating company litigation. The District of Delaware, meanwhile, was the top operating company venue and the number-two district for both overall litigation (falling behind West Texas by just under 30 defendants added) and for NPE litigation (trailing West Texas by over 200 defendants added). The Eastern District of Texas—the favored venue of NPEs prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in TC Heartland—took third place for overall and NPE litigation but was in fifth place for operating company litigation.

The venue rankings were the same in all three categories for litigation filed in the fourth quarter.

As previously reported by RPX, the rise of the Western District of Texas can largely be attributed to District Judge Alan D. Albright, who has made no secret of his desire to attract more patent litigation to his district since taking the bench in September 2018. However, along the way he has developed a somewhat restrictive approach to certain types of motions, with his treatment of motions to transfer for convenience grounds standing out in 2020—in part, because of the extent to which the Federal Circuit has pushed back. On multiple occasions during the past year, the Federal Circuit has overturned Judge Albright’s denial of convenience transfer motions in NPE litigation—including one such decision that divided the court, prompting a dissent from Circuit Judge Kimberly A. Moore.

See RPX’s fourth-quarter review for more on those appellate rulings, as well as other trends affecting patent litigation and the patent marketplace.