Federal Circuit Clarifies That Patent Venue Is Proper Only In A Single Judicial District Within A Multi-District State

In our continuing coverage of the post-TC Heartland landscape, the Federal Circuit recently clarified that venue is proper in only one district per state in In re BigCommerce, Inc., 2018-122 (Fed. Cir. May 15, 2018) (slip op.). Last year, the Supreme Court held in TC Heartland that a company resides where it is incorporated. Among the many unresolved questions flowing from that decision involved the treatment of patent venue in states with multiple districts. Specifically, no appellate court had determined whether a domestic corporation incorporated in a multi-district state "resides" only in the single judicial district where it maintains a principal place of business or registered office, or whether venue could be proper in all judicial districts within that state.