LawPundit Pages

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Reverses Long-Standing Lax Federal Circuit Patent Venue Rule

The U.S. Supreme Court continues its -- clearly necessary -- reshaping of a patent law landscape that long ago passed the limits of common sense.

Justices rein in Federal Circuit’s lax rules on patent venue
is the headline at SCOTUSblog in an article by Ronald Mann
regarding the May 22, 2017 U.S. Supreme Court reversal
of the  Federal Circuit's long-standing lax rule on patent venue,
a clearly impossible rule which had for many years led patent holders
to engage in widespread and undesirable patent forum shopping
in the nation's courts.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for a unanimous 8-0 Court
(Justice Gorsuch did not participate since he joined the Court
after oral argument on the case had already been held). 

See a summary of the holding at TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC.