In re Google LLC (Fed. Cir. 2023)
That is one other mandamus motion win by Google on comfort grounds. The Federal Circuit has ordered the case moved out of the Western District of Texas (Waco) to the Northern District of California.
Jawbone Improvements, LLC sued Google for patent infringement again in 2021 in W.D.Tex. (Waco). Jawbone is a Texas firm and has a bodily base in Waco. However, because the court docket famous, the corporate was fashioned just a few months earlier than the lawsuit was filed. A few of you might personal Jawbone headphone/speaker merchandise. The working firm closed in 2017, and Jawbone Improvements is a ensuing patent-holding firm.
As regular, Google moved to switch its case out of the W.D. Tex. Decide Albright reviewed and rejected the switch movement and Google instantly petitioned for mandamus. The Federal Circuit has now granted mandamus and ordered the case transferred.
Though the appellate court docket said that it offered deference to Decide Albright’s choice, it in the end rejected his evaluation. I observe a few the problems beneath:
- Time to Trial: The appellate panel indicated that the probability of a speedy decision in a single jurisdiction versus one other shouldn’t be given any regard within the comfort evaluation except the events significantly justify why a speedy trial is essential. Right here, the court docket held that Jawbone clearly has no urgency to resolve the case since it’s a non-practicing entity. As such, the truth that W.D.Tex. could resolve the case sooner than N.D.Cal. needs to be given no consideration. This outcome seems problematic to me on the whole. Though there isn’t a Constitutional proper to a speedy trial in patent circumstances,
- P is a (new) Texas Corp: The district court docket gave substantial weight to the truth that Jawbone is a Texas firm and has an workplace in Waco close to the Courthouse. The Federal Circuit rejected that evaluation — discovering as a substitute that Jawbone has no significant presence within the district. Additional, the claimed presence seems a clear effort to fabricate details favorable for this form of venue problem.
Along with Google’s accused infringing design work being carried out in N.D.Cal., an essential issue on this case is that the underlying Jawbone innovations had been additionally created in N.D.Cal.; and that’s the location of the previous Jawbone decision-makers and prosecuting attorneys.
As I’ve written earlier than, I count on Google’s true purpose for asking for switch isn’t based totally upon any of the comfort elements. Moderately Google is anxious that it’s extra prone to obtain a harsh consequence in Texas from Decide Albright than it might earlier than one of many N.D. Cal. Judges in Silicon Valley.
