A Delaware federal judge’s transfer of part of a patent infringement case involving software giant Microsoft Corp. to the Eastern District of Texas is the latest example of the federal courts’ shifting approach to patent litigation venue battles. The decision is also notable in that the Eastern District of Texas, known as a plaintiff-friendly venue, has itself recently started to transfer cases to other venues in compliance with recent federal appellate decisions.
Online direct marketing company QuinStreet first filed suit against epicRealm Licensing LP in August 2006 asking the court to declare that it wasn’t infringing epicRealm’s patents, which involve technology for creating dynamic Web pages. It amended its filing in November 2007 to sue Parallel Networks when it learned that Parallel was claiming the right to enforce the patent because it was or had been the owner or assignee of epicRealm’s patents. QuinStreet has asked the Delaware court to declare that QuinStreet is not infringing Parallel Networks’ patents. QuinStreet also wants the court to declare the patents invalid and unenforceable.
