Intellectual Property Litigator Discusses Patent Venue Decision in Texas Lawyer, Law360 and Reuters Articles

Intellectual property litigation counsel Matthew Rizzolo (Washington, D.C.) discussed a key patent venue ruling examined in a Sept. 21 Texas Lawyer article, which also appeared in The National Law Journal, Corporate Counsel and The Recorder. Mr. Rizzolo was also quoted in Sept. 22 Reuters and Law360 articles. The articles explore the decision in In re Cray, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s first opinion addressing the “regular and established place of business” test of the patent venue statute in over 30 years – a test brought back to relevance by the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 2017 TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands decision.

The Court of Appeals’ opinion rejected Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap’s four-factor test, which was widely viewed as aimed at keeping more cases within the Eastern District of Texas, which had the most patent infringement cases in the nation over the past decade. Mr. Rizzolo has been tracking motions to dismiss or transfer patent cases for improper venue, and notes that the opinion implies that future patent venue statute changes should be addressed by the U.S. Congress, not the courts.