September 21st, 2011
Yes, politics do play a part. Well, at least when it comes to patent infringement cases, it seems that it has. An interesting report has gone out where it ranks court districts under certain categories in patent litigation.
The eastern court district of Texas has a strong reputation for being the forum of choice for patent infringement cases, yet surprisingly enough it does not rank first in any of the important categories.
The western district of Wisconsin ranks first when it comes how much time it takes to process a litigation cases with a little over six months, yet they are often overlooked as a forum for the infringement cases.
This has given them quite the chip-on-the-shoulder. So the question begs to be asked, what makes the eastern Texas district more appealing? There is a separation between these two states that is more than six Midwest states and that separation is political worldview.
It is safe to say that the majority of Texas leans conservative and the majority of Wisconsin leans liberal. Taking what we know about the two views, we know that conservative Texans are big on property rights, whether it’s physical or intellectual property.
Now, it’s not to say that the people of Wisconsin don’t feel the same, but when it comes to the whole issue of “what is mine, is mine” there ain’t no place like Texas.
And when it comes to plaintiffs picking there “forum” of choice, the one category that overrules them all is the amount of victories in a district. And where East Texas ranks 7th with a 40 percent win rate, Western Wisconsin ranks 28th with a 24 percent win rate.
There are many factors that can play into why there is such a gap in percentage, but you can bet that part of it is the difference in political views.
Tags: East Texas, east texas patent litigation and politics, Gap, Intellectual Property, Litigation Cases, Midwest, Midwest States, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Litigation, patent litigation law firms, Plaintiffs, Political Views, politics patent litigation, Reputation, Six Months, Texans, Texas Politics, Two States, Western District Of Wisconsin, Western Wisconsin
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February 8th, 2011
When it comes to our modern day society, almost, everything is about speed. We have created a way to do all things in our life faster. We are what you can call an “instant” culture, we want everything instantly.
From communication, to appliances, to services, to health, to economy, it is all about happening the fastest way possible. Well, now we can include patent litigation. A buzz word you might have heard being used in the legal world is the word “rocket docket”.
When you’ve put an over-night mail label on a court case than you have what they call a “rocket docket”. And when it comes to patent infringement lawsuit that is what the plaintiff is looking for.
This is especially true for the so named “patent trolls” whose whole lively hood is based on patent infringement lawsuits coming from their unmanufactured patents. It seems there is a competition to see who can create the best “rocket docket” in the nation.
At court houses in places like western Wisconsin, Virginia, and east Texas, judges have taken on different practices in order to speed up the litigation process. In one location the judges start as early as 6:30am and can wait as long as 2:30pm before they let court out for lunch.
In another, the judge issues a time limit for council to share, going as far as having a chess clock available to abruptly stop the council when time is up.
Whatever method it might be these court districts have successfully found a way to speed up the process as patent infringement cases have been shortened in some places to as little as 6 ½ months compared to the nationally average of 3-5 years. Well, it looks like the “instant” culture has made its stamp once again.
Tags: Buzz Word, Chess Clock, Court Case, Court Houses, East Texas, east texas court rocket docket, Judge Issues, Litigation Process, Lively Hood, Mail Label, Night Mail, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Infringement Lawsuit, Patent Infringement Lawsuits, Patent Litigation, Plaintiff, Rocket Docket, Texas Judges, Time Limit, Trolls, Western Wisconsin, what does rocket docket mean
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February 1st, 2011
Change is in the wind and it’s coming via Capitol Hill. The current issue of patent infringement abuse taking place in the court houses of Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler Texas has Big Brother on its back now.
Facing this issue that is taking place in East Texas might not be on the top of the list of legislation, but it is definitely something that must be taken care of. The main issue is due mostly to the abuse that is taking place.
Although the term “patent troll” has been around for much longer, it has become more of a common phrase in the past 5-6 years. Patent trolls are the culprits responsible for the rise of patent infringement cases due to their excessive use of the court system in order to gain wealth.
Patent trolls are companies who look to push patent infringement to the limit by using any patents that they hold to target any other business that has a product or technology that has any similarity to their patent in order to sue them for damages.
More times than not they actually look to buy patents off of others. The government has taken notice of the abuse and has already submitted one bill to bring reform to patent infringement cases.
The major keys that they have identified is, first, to give the judges more responsibility by reviewing how much damage was done in by the product or technology and the other responsibility is to access how much really due to the company holding the patent.
The second major idea is to limit “forum shopping” that is, to limit cases being held in locations favorable to plaintiffs. So far no bills have been passed yet.
Whatever your perspective is about big government or little government, the abuse of the legal system has gotten them involved and that is just the beginning.
Tags: 6 Years, Big Brother, Capitol Hill, Common Phrase, Court Houses, Culprits, Current Issue, Damages, East Texas, east texas patent troll, Legislation, Major Keys, Marshall, Patent Infringement Cases, patent troll legislation, patent troll reform, Patents, Perspective, Plaintiffs, Similarity, Texarkana Texas, Trolls, Tyler Texas
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January 14th, 2011
Who would have ever thought that doing your civic duty would have such grave consequences? What started out as the citizens of East Texas simply fulfilling an oath to judge justly without prejudice has escalated into a gold rush of litigation battles and unethical business behavior.
Unaware for many years, the townsfolk of Marshall, Texarkana, and Tyler have become known to the legal world as having a higher percentage of deciding for plaintiffs of patent infringement cases than most other court circuits across the nation.
This has been attributed to things such as an older age group in the jury and a stronger stand on property rights, that is “what is yours is yours”. Unfortunately, some people have seen this standard as a way to turn a profit.
Namely, these people are what they call “patent trolls”. Patent trolls are companies who purchase patents from struggling businesses or firms without any plans on manufacturing the invention or technology.
Their sole use of the patent is to target any businesses that have technology or a service that might infringe on the patent in order to file a lawsuit against them for infringement.
Of course, these “patent trolls” need a feeding ground to survive and they have found that in East Texas. And it seems they are “feeding” well. Since 2003 the number of patent litigation cases in these court houses has more than quadrupled.
They only other location outside of East Texas that has hosted close to that amount of cases is Los Angeles. It’s sad to see how an unselfish act like serving in a jury has resulted in the selfish pursuit of unearned wealth.
So, next time you receive a jury summons, let’s hope your act of civil service does more to serve than not.
Tags: Age Group, Civic Duty, Civil Service, Court Houses, East Texas, east texas juries, east texas jury trial, east tx jury patent litigation, Gold Rush, Grave Consequences, Invention, Jury Summons, Litigants, Litigation Cases, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Litigation, Plaintiffs, Prejudice, Profit Motive, Texarkana, Trolls, Unethical Business Behavior, Unselfish Act
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January 11th, 2011
The Discovery Channels popular program “Myth busters” pride themselves on discovering whether or not a presupposition is correct. Well, I have a myth that needs some busting.
Is the eastern court district of Texas the best forum for patent infringement cases? Patent litigation has become more than protecting your intellectual property rights, it has become a form of business for some.
There is a genre of companies who carry the “patent troll” label based on the unethical business of obtaining patents from other businesses or firms in order to use them to collect financial rewards in patent infringement lawsuits.
Whether it’s one of these “patent troll” cases or your normal run-of-the-mill case, the plaintiff has the right to choose what “forum” or court location the case is brought to.
And throughout the patent litigation world, East Texas has become the place to go. But the question is, are the reasons why myth or reality? It has been explained that the major factors for East Texas becoming the location of choice is due to rocket docket (fast processing of patent infringement cases) and percentage of plaintiff victories.
But the truth is, in a recent investigation of patent litigation cases throughout the United States, the eastern district of Texas does not even rank in the top 5 of either one of those categories.
When it comes to “rocket docket” East Texas ranks in the bottom half and in victory percentage for plaintiffs it ranks 7th place. So is East Texas the ideal forum for patent infringement lawsuits?
When it comes to technical ranking, no it is not the best. But, just like the aging star athlete, reputation and experience can matter more, and I think that is what still makes East Texas the most popular forum.
Tags: Court Location, Discovery Channels, East Texas, Eastern District Of Texas, Financial Rewards, Intellectual Property Rights, is patent trolling wrong, Litigation Cases, Myth Busters, Obtaining Patents, Patent Infringement Cases, Patent Infringement Lawsuits, Patent Litigation, patent troll label, Plaintiff, Plaintiffs, Presupposition, Reputation, Rocket Docket, Star Athlete, Texas Ranks, Unethical Business, what is a patent troll
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