The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday in TC Heartland v. Kraft Brand Foods Group could be more about who gets sued for patent infringement instead of where, especially in Texas.

Michael C. Smith of Marshall's Siebman, Burg, Phillips & Smith said that if patent owners are no longer able to sue large manufacturers in the Eastern District of Texas, they might choose instead to sue the retailers who sell infringing products at stores in the district.

That's because the Supreme Court has returned to a statutory framework that has two prongs. The first is that venue is proper where a defendant is incorporated. For many large companies that means Delaware. But under TC Heartland, venue will also be proper in a district where a defendant has a regular and established place of business and infringement occurs.