Monday was a big day for technology companies and the patent reform groups that support them. The Supreme Court's 8-0 decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group means many of them won't have to defend patent litigation in the Eastern District of Texas.

Many of those cases will have to be filed in Delaware, where big tech companies tend to be incorporated, or the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where many are headquartered. “As the original adopter of Patent Local Rules, the Northern District of California bench is very familiar with patent litigation and well-suited to absorb an increased number of patent lawsuits,” DLA  Piper partner Andrew Valentine said in an email.

Beth Provenzano of United for Patent Reform used TC Heartland to make a pitch for further congressional changes to the patent system. “How many unanimous rulings will it take before Congress addresses at once and in total the broken elements of our patent litigation system?” she said in a written statement.

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