Impact of In re TS Tech USA Corp. Decision

Gene Lee is a partner in the IP litigation group of Ropes & Gray and regularly works on patent litigations in the Eastern District of Texas.  Aaron Jacobs and Brandon Stroy are associates in the IP litigation group of Ropes & Gray.

The Federal Circuit’s December 29, 2008, decision in In re TS Tech USA Corp.,¹ has changed the landscape for defendants in patent suits seeking to transfer their cases.  Applying Fifth Circuit law in a mandamus action, and applying In re Volkswagen of America, Inc.,² the Federal Circuit arguably made it easier for defendants in some patent cases in the Eastern District of Texas—and elsewhere—to obtain a transfer to more convenient, and perhaps friendly, jurisdictions.

Summary of the Case

Lear Corp. sued TS Tech USA Corp. for patent infringement in the Eastern District of Texas.³  TS Tech moved to transfer the case to the Southern District of Ohio on the ground of forum non conveniens.⁴  TS Tech argued that, because all physical and documentary evidence was loca...