May 16, 2018

“Venue ‘Loophole’ For Foreign Cos. Open, But Limited,” Law360, May 15, 2018

Law360 (May 15, 2018, 8:33 PM EDT) — The Federal Circuit’s refusal to limit where foreign companies can be sued for patent infringement clarifies a lingering question left open by the Supreme Court’s TC Heartland decision, but attorneys don’t expect it to open a venue free-for-all.

“It’s still a good defense to bring up, it just likely results in doing it all over again in a different court,” Glenn Forbis of Harness IP & Pierce PLC said.

At the same time, patent owners may want to think hard about their venue selections, he said.

“For a plaintiff choosing a venue, they can’t just do it willy-nilly, because they will always have hanging over their head, all the way to the final appeal, an improper venue claim that could upend the whole thing and send it to another venue,” Forbis said.

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