Patent Litigation Update: Western District of Texas dismisses patent infringement action post TC Heartland decision

In LoganTree v. Garmin International, Inc. et al, 5-17-cv-00098 (TXWD June 22, 2017, Order)(Biery, USDJ), the court held that Defendant’s authorization to conduct business in Texas, selling products in Texas, and listing Texas distributors on its website were insufficient to establish patent litigation venue in Texas following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017): “’The fact that [defendants] are authorized to do business in Texas is not controlling and will not establish the [§ 1400(b)] requirement.’  Nor does defendants’ website allowing viewers to access a list of San Antonio/Austin distributors provide venue under the patent infringement statute. Finally, the fact that defendants sell their activity trackers to distributors in Texas Western will not establish venue. . . . Therefore, the kind and degree of defendants’ contacts do not support a finding that defendants have a permanent and continuous presence which shows a regular and established place of business in the Western District of Texas.” For more information on this topic, please visit our Patent Litigation service page, which is part of our IP & Business Litigation Practice.

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