(Monday, December 16, 2013 – Marshall, Texas) While Congress debates the reformation of patent litigation, U.S. Circuit Judge William C. Bryson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is back, riding the circuit in the Eastern District of Texas. See Order on U.S. Cir. Judge Bryson, Dec. 16, 2013. Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court has approved the intercircuit assignment. The general purpose of intercircuit appointments is to ease heavily burdened dockets. See Interview of Judge J. Frederick Motz, Dec. 2010. Chief Justice Roberts, in 2010, approved the intercircuit assignment of Chief Judge Randall Rader to the Eastern District. In the Spring of 2012, Judge Bryson was appointed and began hearing cases here and has recently been assigned an additional case load in the Marshall Division. While many dispute the cause of the increased patent litigation of recent years, no one can argue that the Eastern District handles more than its fair share of patent suits. Many ascribe the supposed uptick in patent cases to the rise of the “Patent Troll”: alleged non-practicing entities suing more and more defendants. However, recent studies show the rise in patent suits is far less provocative and more bureaucratic, a side affect of the America Invents Act and its changes to the joinder rules. See Facts Show Patent Trolls Not Behind Rise In Suits, Kappos, David, Jan. 15, 2014, Law360.com. This “rise” then in the number of patent suits should more appropriately be placed at the feet of Congress than the mythical troll ravaging the technological landscape.
[Updated: January 16, 2014]
