Eastern District of Texas Not So Patent-Friendly

An article in today's Houston Chronicle (link here) suggests that, while patent lawsuits are being filed in the ED Texas in ever-increasing numbers, that trend may be changing soon.

Money quote:

... a new nationwide study of 36,000 completed patent cases filed between 2000 and 2013 found that plaintiffs in East Texas lose just as often as they win, according to Lex Machina, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based supplier of legal data. 

The Lex Machina study found that plaintiffs won their cases through summary judgment, a bench trial or a jury verdict 2.43 percent of the time, while defendants won 2.45 percent. The remaining 95 percent were either settled or dismissed. The median compensatory damage award by East Texas judges and juries in patent cases was $8.25 million, compared to $6.9 million for patent in Delaware, which is considered a pro-business judicial district. 

"Juries in the Eastern District were said to be awarding higher damages than juries in other jurisdictions, something that will obviously attract new plaintiffs," says Adam Sanderson, a Dallas-based partner at Reese Gordon Marketos in Dallas. "Although there are some recent indications that things may be evening out somewhat, reputations often endure even after the facts on the ground have changed."