Western District of Texas Just Overtook the District of Delaware as the Top Patent Venue

Since his confirmation to the bench in September 2018, District Judge Alan D. Albright has taken active steps to make the Western District of Texas the new hotbed for patent litigation, including issuing a standing order that implements rules designed to appeal to all parties. Based on the early 2020 numbers (through February 14), all patent plaintiffs have taken notice, but NPEs in particular have decided to file in West Texas in ever increasing numbers, elevating the Judge Albright’s district to the top of the list of most popular districts with such plaintiffs—above both the historical frontrunner, the Eastern District of Texas, and the more recent leader, the District of Delaware.

Across all plaintiffs, the Western District of Texas has also just pulled ahead of Delaware. Through February 14, 90 defendants have been added to patent cases filed in the Western District of Texas, while 89 have been added in the District of Delaware. The Eastern District of Texas has fallen to fifth place by defendants added (25), with the Central District of California (48) and the Northern District of Illinois (37) rounding out the top five.

Recent events may yet accelerate these shifts—just last week, the Federal Circuit overturned a broad interpretation of proper venue handed down by District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in the Eastern District of Texas. See “Google Servers Do Not Establish Venue, Federal Circuit Holds—Rejecting Another Gilstrap Venue Rule” (February 2020). The discarded rule may have been propping up the numbers in East Texas, which have been falling steadily in the wake of May 2017 TC Heartland decision by the US Supreme Court concerning proper venue in patent cases. Time will tell if that district will see a further downslide as a result of this latest ruling.