The Eastern District of Texas, which in 2011 appeared to be losing its luster as the preferred U.S. district court venue for patent suits, regained its prominence in 2012, usurping the District of Delaware for the number one spot, according to a recent analysis by Perkins Coie partner James Pistorino.
The Lone Star State’s Eastern District saw 1,266 new patent cases filed in 2012more than triple the 418 suits it saw in 2011. At least some of this tremendous rise is attributable to changes brought about by the America Invents Act, the patent reform legislation that took effect in September 2011. The number of patent lawsuits filed in the District of Delaware also rose significantly, as did the total number of patent cases filed in all U.S. district courts in 2012, Pistorino’s research shows. A partner in Perkins Coie’s patent litigation practice, he has tracked patent cases for the past few years.
