Supreme Court Ruling Affects Patent Venue

David Donoghue and Steven Jedlinski are Partners and Anthony Fuga is an Associate in Holland & Knight's Chicago office

The patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. 1400(b) (the statute), states that "[a]ny civil action for patent infringement may be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business." In its ruling in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, issued on May 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that, in relation to the statute, "residence" refers only to the state of incorporation. This is in contrast to how district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had interpreted the statute for the past 20-plus years, where venue was proper anywhere the district court could exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant.