Lex Machina’s data from January 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023 shows the continued impact of the July 2022 order by then-Chief Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas, which mandated that patent cases filed in the Waco Division would no longer be automatically assigned to Judge Alan Albright, but would instead be randomly assigned in the Western District. At the time of the order, Judge Albright was the most popular judge for patent case filings in the U.S.
Although Judge Albright and the Western District of Texas remain popular with patent plaintiffs, Judge Rodney Gilstrap and the Eastern District of Texas have seen a resurgence in patent case filings in the first nine months of 2023.
Notably, the data reveals that:
1. The Eastern District of Texas is essentially tied with the Western District of Texas for the most patent cases filed.
Out of the 2,276 patent cases filed in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2023, 418 cases were filed in the Western District of Texas, and 417 cases were filed in the Eastern District of Texas. The District of Delaware was third with 338 patent case filings.
In previous years, the Eastern District of Texas had been the third most popular court for patent case filings, after the Western District of Texas and the District of Delaware.
2. The majority of patent case filings in the U.S. remain concentrated in three district courts: the Western District of Texas, the Eastern District of Texas and the District of Delaware.
In 2022, these three courts accounted for 52 percent of all patent case filings in the U.S. In the first nine months of 2023, they accounted for 51 percent of all case filings in the U.S.
3. High Volume Plaintiffs filed slightly more patent cases in the Eastern District of Texas than in the Western District of Texas.
Lex Machina defines High Volume Plaintiffs as plaintiffs who have filed at least 10 patent cases (excluding ANDA cases within a 365-day period). In 2022, 13 percent of patent cases filed by High Volume Plaintiffs were in the Eastern District of Texas, 17 percent were in the District of Delaware and 31 percent were in the Western District of Texas. But in the first nine months of 2023, the percentage of patent cases filed by High Volume Plaintiffs more than doubled in the Eastern District of Texas and declined slightly in the Western District of Texas.
4. Judge Gilstrap displaced Judge Albright as the most popular judge for patent case filings, but the two judges are almost tied for the number of patent case filings by High Volume Plaintiffs.
In 2022, 699 cases or 18 percent of all patent cases filed in the U.S. were filed before Judge Albright. Judge Gilstrap was second with 366 cases or 10 percent of all patent cases filed in the U.S., while Judge Richard Andrews of the District of Delaware was third with 181 cases filed or 5 percent.
But in the first nine months of 2023, their positions had flipped: Judge Gilstrap had the highest number of patent filings for the time period with 316 cases. Judge Albright was second with 182, followed by Judge Maryellen Noreika of the District of Delaware with 96 patent case filings.
As for High Volume Plaintiffs, in 2022, 25 percent of the cases filed by High Volume Plaintiffs in the U.S. were before Judge Albright (414 cases filed), and 10 percent were before Judge Gilstrap (169 cases filed).
But in the first nine months of 2023, Judge Gilstrap and Judge Albright are essentially tied with 18 percent of cases filed in the U.S. by High Volume Plaintiffs (111 and 109 cases filed, respectively):
Whether patent case filings in the Eastern District of Texas will continue to rise remains to be seen; litigants do not seem to be avoiding the Western District of Texas in spite of the July 2022 Order. In fact, the number of patent cases filed by High Volume Plaintiffs assigned to Judge Albright steadily increased in the first nine months of 2023:
In contrast, the patent cases filed by High Volume Plaintiffs before Judge Gilstrap shows no such increase:
Lex Machina will continue to examine trends in patent cases and provide regular updates.