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.
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.