Today in In re BigCommerce, __ F.3d __ (Fed. Cir. 2018)(On Petition)(Linn, J.), the Federal Circuit a major decision on patent venue:
Given that BigCommerce maintains its principal place of business and registered office within the Western District of Texas, the Court concluded that because “BigCommerce has no corporate connection at all with the Eastern District * * * venue is proper under the residence prong of [28 U.S.C.] § 1400(b) only in the Western District of Texas.” (emphasis supplied)
[P]rincipal place of business: This conclusion is based upon the Court’s “hold[ing] that for purposes of determining venue under [28 U.S.C.] § 1400(b) in a state having multiple judicial districts, a corporate defendant shall be considered to ‘reside’ only in the single judicial district within that state where it maintains a principal place of business, or, failing that, the judicial district in which its registered office is located.” (emphasis supplied).
Regards,
Hal