Prof. Anderson Quoted in Bloomberg Story on Apple's Patent Litigation in Texas
April 1, 2022
PIJIP Professor Jonas Anderson was quoted in a recent story on Apple's patent litigation before Judge Alan Albright, and its representation by local firms in Texas.
As described in a recent paper by Anderson, Judge Albright of the Western District of Texas has been "advertising his courtroom through presentations to patent lawyers, comments to the media, procedural practices, and decisions in patent cases as the place to file a patent infringement lawsuit." This has led to an increase in patent-related cases for Texas-based firms.
Last week, Bloomberg ran a story on Texas firm Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, which worked on over half of Apple's patent cases last year. The story also noted that other firms had started renting office space in Waco. Anderson told Bloomberg "Apple (and others) are inherently more likely to hire attorneys that are local, to complement their army of in-house and outside attorneys... If [Judge] Albright can keep the cases flowing (and increase capacity, by being granted another judge who has the same approach to patent law) more firms will relocate permanently to Waco."
Judge Albright's promotion of his court for patent litigation has raised eyebrows. Senators Tillis and Leahy recently wrote SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts expressing concern.
The Bloomberg story, "Apple Turns to Texas Firm for Legal Work in Patent Cases Hotbed," is here.
Professor Anderson's paper, Federal Judge Seeks Patent Cases, is available here. It is coauthored by Paul Gugliuzza.