Texas and Delaware see surge in patent case filings
District Courts in Texas and Delaware have heard the highest concentration of patent case filings in the US this year, according to research.
The research was based on analysis of patent filings at district courts leading up to September 10, 2013.
James Pistorino, partner at Perkins Coie in Palo Alto, California, who carried out the research, said venue was a “very important factor” in litigation procedures.
“Where a case is filed frequently determines what procedures will apply to the case and may also be determinative of the judge assigned to the case,” Pistorino told WIPR.
According to the findings, the US District Court for the District of Delaware experienced the most notable surge in filings.
From January 1 to September 10, a total of 1015 patent cases had been filed at the court, compared to 992 throughout 2012, a projected increase of nearly 50 percent when compared to last year.
Delaware, combined with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, makes up more than 45 percent of all cases filed so far this year.
Pistorino said the courts’ popularity could be traced back to 2008 from when they have seen a steady increase in cases filed.
Explaining that their procedures were often favourable to plaintiffs, Pistorino said, “In the Eastern District of Texas, the plaintiff can directly impact the individual judge assigned to their case.
“Both districts have plaintiff friendly discovery procedures, are not amenable to motions for summary judgment and resist transferring cases that have little or no factual connection with the district.”
Pistorino added that while the implementation of the America Invents Act (AIA), which came into force in September 2011, had been a significant factor in number of cases it did not have an impact on where the cases were filed.
“As a result of the AIA, if a plaintiff wanted to sue multiple unrelated defendants for alleged patent infringement, the plaintiff would have to file multiple cases thereby increasing the total number of patent cases filed.
“Approximately 50 percent more patent cases were filed in 2012 than were filed in 2011 as a result.”
