2020 was notable for patent litigation

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a notable year for patent litigation.

There were 4,060 new patent cases filed last year -- the first increase in filings since 2015, according to a new study. District courts in California accounted for 570 of those lawsuits.

In the 52 patent cases that resulted in damages, a record $4.7 billion was awarded.

The report, compiled by legal analytics company Lex Machina, found that the pandemic's effects on patent litigation aren't as far-reaching as predicted at its outset a year ago.

"Actually looking at the data, and being able to parse it as it applies to a specific use case, enables practitioners to see how court activity has changed -- not only because of the impact of the pandemic, but also as patent strategy evolves in the wake of several important Supreme Court decisions," Geneva Clark, the firm's patent legal data expert and author of the report, said in a statement.

The high court's decision in TC Heartland positioned the District of Delaware, which had the most new cases in 2019 and now has a substantial backlog, Central District of California and Northern District of California, among a few others, as the most common venues where patent cases were filed. But a single federal judge in Waco has established the Western District of Texas as the hottest venue for patent litigation. TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Food Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017).

U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright, a noted patent litigator formerly of Bracewell LLP, has leapfrogged the field as the most active judge in the area. The number of his cases rose from 28 in 2018 to 293 in 2020, which is nearly 20% of all patent cases. He handled all but 64 of new patent complaints filed in the Western District of Texas.

The report attributed the spike to Albright's aggressive local rules postponing patent eligibility in most cases to summary judgment or claim construction in addition to the judge's fast-moving docket. He's also urged parties to bring patent cases before him.

The Western District of Texas encompasses Austin and other urban areas where technology companies are headquartered, allowing parties to establish jurisdiction under TC Heartland.

"Plaintiffs are likely continuing to choose Texas courts due to both the judges' patent experience and the growing presence of tech companies in the state," the report stated.

Of courts in California, the Central District and Northern District had the most with 298 and 272 filings respectively. They remain in the top five districts in which patent cases are filed.

U.S. District Judge James V. Selna of the Central District is the most active patent litigation judge in the state with 56 cases. He's participating in the Patent Pilot Program, a 10-year initiative designed to enhance expertise in patent litigation among district court judges.

The historic payouts in patent cases last year were largely due to significant awards in California Institute of Technology v. Broadcom Limited, which resulted in a $1.1 billion verdict, and Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., which resulted in a $1.9 billion verdict.