Monday, November 16, 2009

Court's Prior Experience With Patents-in-Suit Does Not Override First-to-File Rule

Defendant's motion to dismiss in favor of a first-filed action in Delaware was granted. The location of witnesses favored venue in Delaware and the court's prior experience with the patents did not override the first-to-file rule. "[Plaintiff] points out that the Court has presided over cases involving the patents in suit. . . . Additionally, the Court has a pending case . . . involving all of the four patents in suit. However, the Federal Circuit has held that a court’s prior experience with the patents in suit does not favor it as a forum in the absence of 'ongoing litigation requiring consolidation.' Here, [plaintiff] has made no arguments concerning the consolidation of this case with [the other], which involves different defendants and different accused products."

Multimedia Patent Trust v. Tandberg, Inc., 3-09-cv-01377
(CASD November 11, 2009, Order) (Huff, J.)

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