On November 18, 2022, Judge Alia Moses became Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas. Prior to this, on November 15, 2022, outgoing Chief Judge Garcia entered an Amended Order Assigning the Business of the Court that appeared to assign "All cases and proceedings in the Waco Division" to Judge Albright, thus superseding the previous July 25, 2022 Order (see previous post HERE) randomly assigning patent cases filed in Waco to one of the 12 District Judges across the Divisions.
However that Order has now been replaced. On December 16, 2022, Chief Judge Moses entered a new Amended Order ...
The Western District of Texas now has a new policy pertaining to all newly filed patent cases in the Waco Division. The Order says that all civil cases involving patents, filed in the Waco Division on or after July 25, 2022, shall be randomly assigned to one of the 12 District Judges across the Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland-Odessa/Pecos, San Antonio, and Waco Divisions.
At this point, there are a lot of logistical unknowns and the long term effects of this Order are unclear, especially since there is currently no uniformity of patent procedures within the District.
One option is for WDTX ...
Judge Albright has slightly revised his Order Governing Proceedings in Patent Cases. The newest Order (OGP 3.5.1) modifies the most recent Order (OGP 3.5, entered on October 8, 2021 - see previous post HERE).
The revisions are almost exclusively grammatical, not substantive (which explains the naming convention as OGP 3.5.1, not OGP 3.6 and explains the removal of the footnote retroactively applying it to cases with Markman briefing within 30 days of the Order).
The four"substantive" changes are noted below, with highlighting indicating the new additions:
Judge Albright has entered a new Standing Order Regarding Filing Documents Under Seal and Redacted Public Versions. The Order is almost identical to the previous order from February 2021, with the addition of this language:
"When this Court enters an order resolving a motion in which one or more of the parties filed briefing under seal, the Court will enter its order under seal. The movant shall follow the above protocol and file a publicly available, redacted version of the Court’s sealed order within seven days after the Court enters the sealed order."
Judge Albright entered a revised Order Governing Proceedings - Patent Cases: OGP Version 3.5. Some notable changes include:
Page limits:
There is still no limit on the number of motions for summary judgment, Daubert motions, or motions in limine that can be filed. However, the Court has added page limits for Daubert motions and MILs. Absent leave of Court, the cumulative page limits for opening briefs are:
- All Motions for Summary Judgment: 40 pages per side;
- All Daubert motions: 40 pages per side;
- All Motions in Limine: 15 pages per side.
Responsive briefs for MSJ, Daubert, and MIL ...
The patent jury trial for Profectus Technology LLC v. Google LLC - Case No. 6:20-cv-101 has begun in the Waco Division. As per the Court's typical procedure, a live audio feed is available for the public to listen to the trial proceedings. The dial-in information is:
Number: 1-669-254-5252
Meeting ID: 161-859-1491
Passcode: 823937
One tap mobile :
US: +16692545252,,1618591491#,,,,*823937# or +16692161590,,1618591491#,,,,*823937#
Today, Judge Albright entered his Second Amended Standing Order Regarding Motions for Inter-District Transfer, which replaces the previous June 8 Order.
The Second Amended Order still requires a party who has filed a motion for inter-district transfer to provide the Court with a report regarding the briefing status prior to the Markman hearing, but with a few changes:
- A party must file the status report with respect to whether the motion has been fully briefed and is ready for resolution no later than four weeks prior to the date of the Markman hearing (amended from six weeks in the prior ...
Judge Albright has entered a new Standing Order Regarding Joint or Unopposed Request to Change Deadlines.
Any request to extend a deadline or amend a scheduling order will be automatically granted as long as: (1) it is unopposed or agreed; and (2) it does not change any hearing/trial date or any final submission to the Court related to a hearing/trial.
The parties must file this as a Request instead of a Motion.
Today, Judge Albright entered a revised Order Governing Proceedings in Patent Cases: OGP Version 3.4. This latest revision incorporates some of the Court's newest Standing Orders that have been entered this month (see previous post HERE). Some other notable changes include:
Order of Markman Briefing:
The Court has switched the order that the parties file their claim construction briefs. Defendant now files the opening claim construction brief, Plaintiff files a response, Defendant files a reply, and Plaintiff files a sur-reply.
Improper Deposition Objections:
The Court has ...
Standing Order for Discovery Hearings in Patent Cases:
Today, Judge Albright entered a new Standing Order for Discovery Hearings in Patent Cases. No later than 7 days after a discovery hearing, the prevailing party must submit a proposed order briefly summarizing the dispute and the parties' understanding of the Court's ruling. If the parties cannot agree on the language in the proposed order, they may submit respective proposed orders to the Court for resolution.
The Court has noted recently that that many discovery hearings involve the same disputed issues. This new procedure ...
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With over 50 years of combined experience with federal court practice in the Western District, our team boasts former federal clerks and outstanding litigators with unrivaled experience in local federal litigation. Our contributors are all located in the Waco office of Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee. With an office just blocks from the Waco courthouse, we have our finger on the pulse of the emerging patent litigation practice in the Waco Division of the Western District, and we want to share that expertise with you.