If you thought the House subcommittee on intellectual property gathered Tuesday to celebrate the Supreme Court's May 22 TC Heartland decision on patent venue laws, think again.

Over the two-hour hearing, committee members praised the ruling but worried that it may not do enough to discourage forum shopping. They also fretted that patent assertion entities will find ways around the ruling, that retailers and restaurants will desert the Eastern District of Texas, and that those who stay will risk facing even more patent litigation as the last targets standing.

“Have we fixed a pervasive problem that has gone on for a decade, or have we half-fixed a pervasive problem?” said Darrell Issa, chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. “Or have we in fact fixed a problem and the most innovative, industrious and perhaps amazing and expensive lawyers will circumvent it before we're done?”