Intel has won an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit effectively blocking a high-stakes patent infringement trial from taking place before U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas next month.

The Federal Circuit found that Albright had no statutory basis to relocate a trial in VLSI v. Intel from the Western District of Texas’ Austin courthouse to its Waco courthouse. Lurking in the background of the decision is COVID-19 and the unique circumstances that would justify moving a trial from a closed courthouse to an open one.