Supreme Court shook up patent venue in 2017

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that venue in patent cases based on where a corporation “resides” is limited to its state of incorporation. TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017). This overturned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s long-standing rule that patent venue exists wherever a corporation is subject to personal jurisdiction. The result has been a dramatic change to patent lawsuit filings, including reducing filings in the Eastern District of Texas, previously the nation’s most popular venue.