Author name: Western District

The Eastern District of Texas started the “rocket docket” for patent litigation (generally considered to have begun with Judge Ward’s 2001 issuance of the Court’s Patent Rules) many years before the recent rise of the Western District of Texas and its steady march towards the number one spot for patent case filings. So, how similar are the two districts, and what are some considerations for potential litigators filing in either district? In this post I want to address some of the more intangible considerations – considerations that may not readily come to mind before filing.   But first, a point of […]

Judge Albright’s MV3-Roku trial (which we covered extensively this week and last) was the talk of much of the legal media. Some of the coverage we found most interesting was: Bloomberg Law presented “Four Takeaways” from the trial. Law360 covered openings last week (free given COVID-related content) and the final verdict this week (subscription-only). The Waco Patent Litigation Updates blog published their own set of highlights from the week at trial: MV3 v Roku – Waiting on the Jury… And Roku’s own press release regarding the verdict was about as efficient as possible: “We are pleased with today’s non-infringement verdict which vindicates our position that Roku has no liability to MV3 Partners LLC in this

Today was the last day in the MV3 v. Roku showdown, Judge Albright’s first patent trial since he took the bench two years ago. Here are the highlights: At 8:00 a.m. sharp Judge Albright took up two brief issues before the beginning of closing argument. Counsel for Roku was concerned that MV3 would say, in closing argument, that Roku’s expert “violated” the Court’s claim construction order when discussing a particular claim term. Judge Albright agreed that the word “violate” was too strong, and instructed counsel such a strong phrasing would not be used during closing.  After addressing this issue and

As this post’s title gives away, today was not, after all, the final day of the MV3-Roku trial, but tomorrow will be. Closing arguments will begin at 8AM. In terms of how we got there, here are the highlights: Courthouse safety procedures: The Court deployed a more extensive array of pandemic-related precautionary measures than last week. Specifically: All visitors to the courthouse were subject to a forehead temperature screen at the main entrance. Outside the courtroom, all trial attendees were directed to fill out a sign-in sheet for contact-tracing purposes, and to execute and submit an attestation form to the effect that we

The first week of the MV3-Roku trial is at an end. As mentioned in our last post, it’s been a pretty standard case, all in all. So let’s just close out with some tidbits gleaned from Mark’s and my general observations over the last several days: Jury instructions: Charge conference was held Friday afternoon in chambers, out of view of the public. The parties will have the opportunity on Tuesday to formally preserve objections on the record. Rule 50 motions: Judge Albright allows JMOL motions to be submitted to the Court either orally or in written format. In this case, Judge Albright had Roku’s

The long-awaited trial date in MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku, Inc. is here at last! Our intention this week on the blog is to cover some of the more notable occurrences during trial. As always, if there’s anything in particular you’re interested in hearing about, please let us know. Here’s how pretrial proceedings and opening statements went this morning. The Marshal opened the doors to Judge Albright’s Courtroom No. 1 at 8AM sharp. Beyond the parties and their representatives, a couple dozen interested observers filled the gallery. For anyone thinking of paying their own visit to Court, the back rows did not

It’s been quiet on the blog this week, but along with much of the rest of the patent bar, we’re eagerly awaiting Monday’s commencement of Judge Albright’s first-ever patent trial in MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku, Inc. (No. 6:18-cv-00308). You can look to us for coverage next week! Otherwise, here’s some other (mostly) recent coverage regarding the MV3-Roku trial: Back in June, this author covered the previous multiple postponements of the trial, while wondering “whether circumstances as of late August and early September will permit the MV3 v. Roku trial to proceed as [then] scheduled” for September 8. Spoiler: They did not, but the big day has

On September 23, 2020, the parties in MV3 v. Roku had their final pretrial conference with Judge Albright before the October 5th trial setting—scheduled to be Judge Albright’s first-ever patent trial since taking the bench. During the conference, Judge Albright laid out his modified trial procedures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few noteworthy takeaways: Safety Precautions: No more than three individuals can be seated at counsel table. During bench conferences, only one lawyer per side is permitted to approach the bench, and both attorneys and Judge Albright will wear masks during the bench conference. The seven-person jury will be

Most of the big news out of Waco this week was Judge Albright’s updated procedures (which we covered here and here). Here are takes on those updates from others around the patent-litigation universe: Winston & Strawn’s WacoWatch blog covered the updates here. The Waco Patent Litigation Updates blog covered them here and here. Michael C. Smith of the Eastern District of Texas Blog covered them here and here (subscription required). Law360 covered them here (subscription required). Bloomberg Law covered them here (subscription required). (We assume you see something of a theme here, and hope you appreciate the low, low price we charge for your access.) In other news: Of great importance to an ongoing district

For anyone interested in hearing directly from the Court, Judge Albright will be participating at 1PM Central today in a “teleforum” sponsored by the Federalist Society, entitled “Patent Litigation in the Western District of Texas: An Afternoon Discussion with Judge Alan Albright and a New Take on Patent Case Procedures.” Based on the event title and description (“how new patent procedures evolve to meet the needs of a rapidly growing patent litigation docket”), it appears that Judge Albright will likely be addressing his newly-issued updated Order Governing Proceedings and Notice of Readiness, which we previously addressed on the blog here and here. The