New Jersey is a popular venue for filing patent infringement lawsuits. As the “Medicine Chest of the World,” comprising thousands of biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology, medical device and diagnostic companies, the District of New Jersey (D.N.J.) is the logical forum for many life science patent suits. On May 22, the Supreme Court decided TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, which fundamentally changed the patent venue landscape. 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017). This article will discuss TC Heartland and its impact on litigation around the country, with a particular focus on the D.N.J.

The patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. §1400(b), provides that patent infringement suits “may be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business.” A defendant may challenge venue by moving to dismiss for improper venue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3), or by moving for a venue transfer in the “interest of justice” under 28 U.S.C. §1404(a) or §1406(a). A venue objection, however, must be “timely and sufficient.” 28 U.S.C. §1406(b).

In TC Heartland, the Supreme Court held that, in determining proper venue with respect to domestic corporations, “residence” in §1400(b) “refers only to the State of incorporation.” 137 S. Ct. at 1516–17. In so holding, the Supreme Court altered the patent venue rule previously established by VE Holding Corp. v. Johnson Gas Appliance Co., 917 F.2d 1574 (Fed. Cir. 1990), that a corporation is deemed to reside anywhere in which it is subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced. In VE Holding, the Federal Circuit held that the definition of venue in 28 U.S.C. §1391(c), the general venue statute, also applied to patent cases. 917 F.3d at 1584.