Judge Albright, who has presided over patent cases in multiple Divisions within the Western District of Texas, appears to have issued his first order denying a motion to transfer venue for convenience from the Waco Division to the Austin Division. Until this point, he has generally been very open to intra-district transfers for convenience, both opposed and unopposed.
Case No. 6:20-cv-108 (ParkerVision, Inc. v. Intel Corp.) was filed in the Waco Division in February 2020. On July 10, 2020, Intel moved to transfer the case under § 1404(a) to the District of Oregon or, alternatively ...
Yesterday, the Federal Circuit denied Intel's latest petition for writ of mandamus, declining to vacate Judge Albright's December 31 Order re-transferring Case No. 6:19-cv-254 (now Case No. 6:21-cv-57) back to Waco from Austin (See previous post detailing Intel's petition HERE). Thus, VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corp. appears to be headed to a jury in the Waco Division on February 16.
The three-judge panel consisting of Chief Judge Prost, and Circuit Judges Lourie and Chen (the same panel that granted Intel's first mandamus petition in this case - see previous post HERE), stated ...
Judge Albright graciously invited us in to his courtroom for a tour to learn about the newest courtroom technology and how it will be implemented in the coming months for trials, jury selection, and hearings.
Over the past 6 months, major upgrades have been underway to facilitate trial technology, especially in the age of COVID. There are new screens at counsel table, the podium, witness stand, jury box, and gallery that integrate video conferencing, audio conferencing, and streaming capabilities. Two cameras have been installed: one to capture the bench and the witness, and one to ...
On December 23, the Federal Circuit appeared to give Intel an early Christmas present by granting Intel’s Petition for Writ of Mandamus, vacating the previously set trial date of January 11, 2020 in Waco (see our previous post HERE regarding Intel's petition and the November 20 transfer back to the Waco Division). However, the Circuit Court was very deliberate in its limited holding and, more importantly, explicit in what it was not holding, overtly stating “we do not hold that the district court lacks the ability to effectuate holding trial in the Waco Division.”
The Federal ...
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With over 50 years of combined experience with federal court practice in the Western District, our team boasts former federal clerks and outstanding litigators with unrivaled experience in local federal litigation. Our contributors are all located in the Waco office of Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee. With an office just blocks from the Waco courthouse, we have our finger on the pulse of the emerging patent litigation practice in the Waco Division of the Western District, and we want to share that expertise with you.
