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October 13, 2016 | By Vera Ranieri
Patent Forum Shopping Must End
It's Time for the Supreme Court to End the Venue Loophole

As we’ve detailed on many occasions, forum shopping is rampant in patent litigation. Last year, almost 45% of all patent cases were heard in the Eastern District of Texas, a sparsely populated region of Texas probably more well-known as the birthplace of George Foreman than for any technological industry. EFF, along with Public Knowledge, has filed an amicus brief in TC Heartland v. Kraft, urging the Supreme Court to hear a case that could end forum shopping in patent cases.



The case is one of statutory interpretation. Prior to 1990, the Supreme Court had long held that in patent cases, the statute found at 28 U.S.C. § 1400 controlled where a patent case could be filed. However, in 1990 in a case called VE Holding, the Federal Circuit held that a small technical amendment to another venue statute—28 U.S.C. § 1391—effectively overruled this long line of cases. VE Holding, together with another case called Beverly Hills Fan, means that companies that sold products nationwide can be sued in any federal court in the country on charges of patent infringement, regardless of how tenuous the connection to that court. TC Heartland first asked the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to revisit its law. EFF also supported TC Heartland at that court. The Federal Circuit declined the invitation.

As discussed in the FTC's recent report on patent assertion entities, 53% of the studied cases were filed in the Eastern District of Texas.



https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/10/p ... g-must-end