Judge Mazzant’s case assignment order on March 3, 2025, brought the topic of the Eastern District of Texas (“EDTX”) being the busiest forum for patent cases back into the spotlight. See here: EDTX Eases Sherman Caseload In Assignment Order - Law360. 

Interestingly, EDTX being a hotspot forum for patent cases is not a new story but a phenomenon that started nearly two decades ago when EDTX became one of the first districts in the country to adopt patent local rules and started to gain a reputation for being plaintiff-friendly. See here: "What Does Forum Shopping in the Eastern District of Texas Mean for Pat" by Alisha Kay Taylor. In 2015 alone, EDTX captured more than 36% of national filings of patent cases. See here: Forum Shopping and Patent Law—A Comment on TC Heartland | Texas Law Review. The 2017 Supreme Court decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC pressed the pause button, and EDTX has seen a decline in filings of patent cases since then. By 2021, the Western District of Texas (WDTX), particularly the Waco Division, became the leading district for patent cases, with more than 25% of the nation’s patent cases assigned to the only judge in Waco—Judge Alan Albright. Additionally, another popular forum for patent cases is the District of Delaware, where most businesses are incorporated.

However, EDTX is back as the busiest patent court in the nation. This Law360 article (EDTX Eases Sherman Caseload In Assignment Order - Law360) points out that this resurgence in popularity is due to judges in EDTX having extensive experience with patent cases and being committed to bringing such cases to trial quickly. While these factors certainly contribute to the district’s heavy patent docket, they do not fully explain the resurgence in 2023-2024. At least two other factors contributed to the surge in dockets in EDTX. 

First, the District of Delaware saw a significant reduction in case filings following Chief Judge Connolly’s standing order requiring funding source disclosures, especially after the 2023 Federal Circuit’s affirmation of the district’s ruling that required an on-paper owner of a non-practicing entity plaintiff to appear in person in court in In re Nimitz Techs (No. 2023-103). See here: Disclosure Order Targeting Funders Stunts Delaware Patent Suits.

Second, in 2022 an order was issued by the former chief judge of WDTX requiring patent cases filed in Waco to be randomly assigned among all 12 judges in the district. This order effectively ended Waco’s status as one of the most popular courts for patent cases. In December 2024, Judge Alan Albright moved from Waco to Austin. See here: Albright, Patent Lawsuit Magnet, Said to Be Shifting to Austin.