Time for Federal Circuit to ‘shut down’ Eastern District of Texas, says EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked a US appeals court to change the rules surrounding where patent cases can be filed in a bid to limit the number of lawsuits being filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
In an amicus brief filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the EFF, along with non-profit organisation Public Knowledge, has stepped into the TC Heartland dispute, which concerns changing the venue for patent lawsuits.
Indiana-based TC Heartland, which creates water enhancers, was sued by Kraft Foods for allegedly infringing three Kraft patents covering water enhancers.
Kraft sued TC Heartland at the US District Court for the District of Delaware but TC Heartland unsuccessfully asked the judge to transfer the case to the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
TC Heartland appealed against the decision to the federal circuit.
To make its argument the EFF referenced a previous federal circuit case that it said has created an “absurd” situation of “forum selling”, whereby patent owners can choose the district court they wish to sue in.
The EFF said that, according to Congress, patent law says that cases can be brought only “in the judicial district where the defendant resides”, or where the defendant has committed infringement and has a “regular place of business”.
But the EFF, in a press release calling on the federal circuit to “shut down” the Texas court, claimed that the law on patent venue has been weakened over the years, resulting in a surge of cases being heard at the court.
According to legal analytics company Lex Machina, the Texas court handles nearly a quarter of US patent cases.
To back up its claim, the EFF pointed to a 1990 federal circuit case called VE Holding v Johnson Gas Appliance which, it said, found that Congressional amendments had weakened rules surrounding where patent cases can be filed.
The EFF argued in its brief that the federal circuit should reconsider the ruling in VE Holding to avoid patent lawsuits being clogged in one venue.
“VE Holding has allowed patent owners to sue in practically any district in the country, no matter how tenuous the connection to the alleged infringement,” the EFF said in a statement.
“In turn, this has given rise to ‘forum selling,’. This is what we see in the eastern district of Texas,” the statement added.
Neil Smith, attorney at law firm Rimon, told WIPR he has faith that the federal circuit will deal with the laws on patent case venue and general venue, and reach the correct decision.
“I do not think that the case should be about ‘forum selling,’ but should be decided on the law. Many courts have different practices concerning pre-trial and trial, juries, timing of motions, etc ... and it is a slippery slope to analyse judges and courts,” Smith said.
He added: “Of course, if the case does change the patent case venue rules, it will likely end the large number of patent cases filed in the Texas court.”
