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Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer intellectual property and technology litigation blog! Check here for useful news and information about patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and other IP and technology litigation developments.
Our IP & Technology Litigation Attorneys:
Federal Circuit Holds Patent Venue Decision Based on Remote Workers Did Not Warrant Mandamus Relief
By Daniel M. Staren and David G. Barker The Federal Circuit recently denied a mandamus petition seeking relief from a district court order denying a motion to dismiss a patent case for improper venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b). Bel Power Solutions, Inc. sued Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. in the Western District of Texas for selling power modules that infringed Bel’s patents. Monolithic moved to dismiss or transfer for lack of venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) because (1) it is a Delaware corporation and does not reside in the Western District within the meaning of § Read More »
Posted in Patent Litigation
| Tagged Federal Circuit, patent, Patent Litigation, Venue
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Federal Circuit Clarifies Venue Waiver After TC Heartland
By Peter R. Montecuollo and David G. Barker The Federal Circuit issued guidance yesterday for district courts deciding venue challenges after the Supreme Court’s May 2017 decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC. In In re Micron Technology, Inc., the Federal Circuit granted Micron Technology, Inc.’s petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that TC Heartland “changed the controlling law” by making available a venue defense that was not “available” to patent infringement defendants prior to the Supreme Court’s decision. In the wake of TC Heartland, Micron Technology moved to dismiss or transfer President and Fellows Read More »
Posted in IP and Technology Litigation, Patent Litigation, Uncategorized
| Tagged Federal Circuit, patent, Venue
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District Courts Disagree on Venue-Waiver Issues After TC Heartland
By David G. Barker At the end of May this year, the Supreme Court unanimously clarified the law on venue in patent infringement lawsuits (see here). For 27 years, litigants had relied on a Federal Circuit decision, VE Holding Corp. v. Johnson Gas Appliance Co. (1990), that allowed patent owners to file suit virtually anywhere an infringing product was sold. In TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, the Supreme Court limited venue, and district courts are reaching different conclusions about whether litigants have waived venue arguments by not asserting them before TC Heartland. TC Heartland held that a 1957 Read More »
Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Limits Venue in Patent Infringement Suits
By Peter R. Montecuollo and David G. Barker In yet another unanimous intellectual property decision (see here), the United States Supreme Court today held in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC that “reside,” as used in the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), “refers only to the State of incorporation,” and not to each state where a domestic, corporate defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction. This limitation alters the venue landscape for patent infringement suits that has been in place since the Federal Circuit’s 1990 decision in VE Holding Corp. v. Johnson Gas Appliance Co. Kraft Read More »
Posted in IP and Technology Litigation, Patent Litigation
| Tagged patent, Supreme Court, Venue
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Supreme Court to Decide Patent Infringement Suit Venue Issue with Potentially Immense Implications
The U.S. Supreme Court this week granted TC Heartland, LLC’s (“Heartland’s”) petition for a writ of certiorari regarding the patent infringement venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b). Heartland appealed the Federal Circuit’s refusal to dismiss the case or transfer a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Heartland from Delaware to Indiana, where Heartland is incorporated. The Supreme Court agreed to address “Whether 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) is the sole and exclusive provision governing venue in patent infringement actions and is not to be supplemented by 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c).” If the Supreme Court answers the question in the affirmative, venue options likely will Read More »
Posted in IP and Technology Litigation, Patent Litigation
| Tagged Federal Circuit, patent, Supreme Court, Venue
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