Month: March 2023

Testimony Before Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee

msmithCommentary

I appreciated the opportunity to testify before the Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee yesterday morning on the pending “business courts” legislation on behalf of the Texas chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (Tex-ABOTA) which consists of members from both sides of the Texas trial bar. Tex-ABOTA, The Texas Association of Defense Counsel (TADC) and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) all oppose the bills, and all three of us provided testimony to the committee on why that is the case. I was able to reference lessons learned in the EDTX patent docket, as well as mention the late EDTX U.S. District Judge William Steger, who Jurisprudence chair Sen. Bryan Hughes clerked for. Many thanks to Chairman Hughes for making a fellow East Texan welcome.

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Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Granted

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Like my scratchbuilt 1/700 FDR, circa 1945, this case is beginning to take shape. Judge Hanen granted summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claims of both literal infringement and infringement under the doctrine of equivalents of Claim 4 of the asserted patent after what appears to have been a fairly consequential claim construction ruling.  He might could have granted more if he’d had access to full-res scans of the original Newport News builder’s plans. But I’m just speculating.

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Marshall Jury Awards $11.1 Million In Patent Verdict

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U.S. District Courtroom – Marshall, Texas – Photo: Carol M. Highsmith 

A Marshall jury in Judge Rodney Gilstrap’s court found that a defendant willfully infringed most of the plaintiff’s asserted patents dealing with network infrastructure, and awarded $11.1 million in damages as a lump sum – but also found two of the patent claims invalid.

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Texas IP Roundup – March 2023

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Join us this upcoming Tuesday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m. Central, Texas time, for another B-CLE live webcast about what is going on in IP cases in Texas federal courts. Wayne Stacy and I will go over the key cases I have selected from the past month to discuss. In this episode, we discuss some recent evidence cases that we should all be watching, including cases on expert report limitations, contention interrogatories, deposition scheduling, and privilege waiver. We also discuss the most recent venue cases and how In re Planned Parenthood is impacting Texas venue decisions. Registration and attendance is free, and CLE credit is available, as always – sign up here.

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Scam Alert: Don’t Subscribe / Renew Subscription Using Euros

msmithCommentary

We all need to be alert to the cyber scams going around, and here’s a new one. If you are attempting to subscribe or renew your subscription – to this blog or anything else – and you reach a page that has payment in Euros – it’s likely a scam (it definitely is for the blog – like most Texas businesses we are configured to accept payment only in dollars). Contact me at michael.smith@solidcounsel.com and I’ll walk you through the correct process for renewing. If you’re already set up for automatic renewal, you don’t have to worry about this.

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WDTX Judge Lee Yeakel Retirement

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U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel will leave the Western District of Texas bench on May 1, 2023, after nearly 20 years of service. Judge Yeakel currently handles half of the Austin Division docket, so his departure will leave a substantial hole.  There are already four district court vacancies in Texas and two more anticipated after Judge Yeakel, and none have nominees, so when the docket is reallocated those cases will go to a judge currently serving.

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