Jonathan K. Waldrop

The. Eastern District of Texas is famous — some would say infamous — in the annals of patent law. But Waldrop thinks people will be hearing more about its neighbor in the coming years.

“We believe the Western District of Texas is a forum where we will be litigating more,” said the managing partner of the Redwood Shores office of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP. “We have at least two big cases there now and anticipate even more filing there.”

The district is home to Dell Technologies Inc. and other companies in the Silicon Hills area in and around Austin. Another company with significant operations in the area is Roku Inc., makers of the tiny device that allow viewers to watch Netflix and other streaming services.

In a complaint filed last fall, Waldrop alleges some of Roku’s success is built on his client MVC Partners LLC’s patent relating to video streaming to mobile devices. MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku Inc., 18-CV00308 (W.D. Tex., filed Oct. 16, 2018).

But Waldrop also has long experience in Texas’ Eastern District, whose judges he said have been unfairly maligned by some litigants and attorneys from California’s technology sector. He thinks some of the issue is cultural, relating to how attorneys present their case.

“I’m from Alabama,” Waldrop said. “I’m not intimidated by litigating in the South. I actually prefer it. We’ve done well there because we tell a story.”

But despite his comfort with the Eastern District of Texas, he’s not above getting out of the venue when it helps his clients. In fact, he’s won transfers out of the district twice for Alphabet Inc.-owned Google since 2017.

Last year, he defended the company in a challenge related to features on its Android operating system for smartphones. He won a transfer to the Northern District of California and then a complete dismissal. Fujinomaki vs. Google Inc. et al., 15-CV1381 (E.D. Tex., filed July 31, 2017).

He’s also represented Apple Inc., Adobe Inc. and other technology giants. But in the past five years, Waldrop said his “diverse” practice has also increasingly represented up-and-coming startups. The key is always the same: creative solutions and hard work.

“I have a lot of smart people working with me,” Waldrop said. “They make me look good.”

— Malcolm Maclachlan