In the leading Federal Circuit case on venue transfer motions, TS Tech, the court applied Fifth Circuit precedent to the forum non conveniens factors and ordered a patent case transferred out of the Eastern District of Texas. In re TS Tech USA Corp., 551 F.3d 1315 (Fed. Cir. 2008).
Since TS Tech, Eastern District courts have ruled on about a dozen contested transfer motions. While slightly more than half were granted — up from about one third prior to TS Tech — a review of these decisions shows that unless the case sought to be transferred is regional in nature, or another court already has experience with the patents-in-suit, then transfer has been unlikely.
Reprinted with permission from Portfolio Media, Inc. (http://www.law360.com)
