Fresh From the Bench: Latest Federal Circuit Court Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

In re: Juniper Networks, Inc., Appeal No. 2021-160 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 24, 2021)

In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit issued its fifth writ of mandamus this year ordering transfer of a patent case out of the Western District of Texas courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Alan D. Albright.

(Our write-up of the recent precedential decision in In re Samsung is available here.)

In this case, the Court ordered the transfer of infringement cases brought by non-practicing entity WSOU Investments LLC d/b/a Brazos Licensing and Development (“Brazos”) against petitioner Juniper from the Western District of Texas to the Northern District of California. Brazos’s only presence in the Western District of Texas was a two-person office it had recently opened in Waco for the purpose of filing patent lawsuits, whereas the accused products had been primarily designed, developed, marketed, and sold from Juniper’s headquarters in the Northern District of California. The Court found that in denying Juniper’s transfer motion, Judge Albright again erred in his analysis and weighing of multiple transfer factors under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), including the relative convenience of witnesses, local interests in adjudicating the dispute, the availability of sources of proof, the potential need for compulsory process, and considerations of court congestion.

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By Jason Wrubleski

Edited by: Scott D. Eads and Nika Aldrich, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Contributor: Jason Wrubleski