Patent Law

In re Volkswagen (Fed. Cir. 2008) (nonprecedential denial of mandamus)

In July 2007, MHL filed a patent infringement suit against VW in the Eastern District of Texas. Hoping to avoid that venue, the automobile company countersued in the Eastern District of Michigan. Although primarily a declaratory judgment action, VW included Michigan state law claims of unfair competition, defamation, trade disparagement, and abuse of process. In a preliminary hearing, the Michigan court declined its powers of supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims and ordered the case be transferred to Texas. Because the transfer was not a final action, VW had no right to an appeal. Instead, it filed a writ of mandamus.

The Federal Circuit considered the writ, but ultimately declined to exercise authority over the case ? finding that VW had not shown the importance of immediately deciding the issue. "A party seeking a writ bears the burden of proving that it has no other means of attaining the relief desired."

In Texas, the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals just released its en banc opinion in another In re VW case. In that case, the 5^th Circuit held that the E.D. Texas (Marshall) court had unreasonably refused to transfer VW's case to a Northern District court in Dallas. The AIPLA filed a brief in that case, noting that the Eastern District of Texas rarely allows an out-transfer. From the AIPLA brief: "The routine filing of patent infringement complaints in the Eastern District of Texas that have essentially no connection to that district has been encouraged by the seeming reluctance of courts in that district to transfer cases under § 1404(a)." [Link]

In another venue case, Judge Patel of the Northern District of California noted that venue games are "perfectly legitimate"

In Sorensen v. Phillips, Judge Patel transferred the case to the Southern District of California where a parallel proceeding was already underway (and stayed pending reexamination).

Notes:

• Discussion of 5^th Circuit appeal