Since U.S. District Judge Alan Albright took the bench, patent holders have flocked to file their cases in the Waco Division of the Western District of Texas. In a little over two years, the Waco Division has established its place. The Waco Division’s growing prominence combines with changes at every level of the federal government—a new president, a new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director yet to be named, a Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property with leaders interested in patent eligibility reform, and a new chief judge for the Federal Circuit. Looking at all these changes and pandemic-related trial delays, here are our observations.
• Significant growth: According to Lex Machina, Albright has seen nearly 220% growth in his docket from 2019 to 2020; 793 patent infringement cases were filed in Waco in 2020, 248 in 2019, and 28 in 2018, giving Albright the lion’s share of 2020’s patent cases. Considering 60% of all filed patent cases are before just six judges, and 45% of those are in Waco, Albright has an opportunity to impact patent jurisprudence. Exponential growth like this has been seen in the past. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap saw similar growth, 214%, when his docket increased from 537 cases in 2012 to 1,689 cases in 2015. U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder also saw 285% growth from 2014 to 2015 (219 cases to 843 cases). Of course, TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017), shifted plaintiffs’ chosen venues in 2017, but judges in the District of Delaware and in the Northern District of California, the primary beneficiaries of the shift, did not experience growth anywhere close to either the historical numbers in the Eastern District of Texas or the current growth in the Western District of Texas. We have every expectation Albright will keep pace with the growth in his docket. Albright regularly reinforces his goal to hold a claim construction hearing within five months of the case management conference, and trial within 12 to 14 months of the claim construction hearing. But for COVID and the Austin courthouse shutdown, he would be on pace for trials. And, he has kept pace on claim construction hearings for the most part. Always inviting constructive comments about process and procedure, Albright regularly meets with his advisory group to talk through opportunities for clarity, and updates his procedures and guidance as needed (four times in the last six months). All of this suggests to us Albright will continue to manage his docket as advertised.
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