"Eastern District of Texas Rocket Docket Still Has Fuel," Law360

Aaron Stiefel, Partner in the Intellectual Property group, authored the article “Eastern District of Texas Rocket Docket Still Has Fuel” in the April 28, 2010 issue of Law360. In the article, Mr. Stiefel discusses the Federal Circuit’s decisions in In re TS Tech USA Corp. (in December 2008) and In re Genentech, Inc. (in May 2009) , which granted writs of mandamus and ordered transfers from Courts in the Eastern District of Texas. These decisions appeared to signal that the Federal Circuit was putting an end to the torrent of patent litigation being brought in E.D. Texas. The Federal Circuit underscored the point in December 2009 by again granting writs of mandamus and ordering transfers from E.D. Texas in In re Hoffman-La Roche Inc. and In re Nintendo Co. Despite this, the District remains an attractive forum for patent litigation. The article discusses the circumstances in which patent holders that bring suit in E.D. Texas generally succeed in keeping their cases there, as well as the circumstances in which motions to transfer patent cases brought in the E.D. Texas are generally granted.