U.S. Supreme Court alters the patent venue landscape, making the most of your patents, and more in this issue of IP Buzz

Supreme Court Alters Patent Venue Landscape—E.D. Tex. No Longer the Heartland of Patent Litigation

The Supreme Court last week issued its decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Food Group Brands LLC, 581 U. S. ___ (2017), altering the landscape of patent litigation venue. The Court ruled unanimously that "a domestic corporation 'resides' only in its State of incorporation for purposes of the patent venue statute." TC Heartland, 581 U. S. ___, slip op. at 2. Venue over a domestic corporate defendant is now proper:

• in the judicial district where the defendant resides, that is, its State of incorporation, or
• where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business. 28 U.S.C. §1400(b).

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Making the Most of Your Patent: Patent Marking

You've spent years developing your invention and several more years negotiating with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to get a patent with claims of myriad scope. Now that your patent has issued, what happens next? The logical next step: put infringers on notice of your patent rights. This can be achieved, constructively, by marking your patented product with a patent notice.

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Content Is King, but How Will You Protect It?

Companies are spending more time and money than ever before generating creative, engaging content. The digital era has made content limitless and methods of engaging consumers almost limitless. But the law is not limitless – it still has bounds, some of which were established long before there were computers, the internet, or discussions about augmented reality and virtual reality.

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