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.
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 ...
Another patent infringement jury trial began this morning in the Waco Federal Courthouse: Freshub, Inc. et al v. Amazon.Com Inc. et al - Case No. 6-21-cv-00511.
The Court has provided a dial-in for members of the public to call in and listen to the trial proceedings in real time:
Number: 1-669-254-5252
Meeting ID: 160-731-3863
Passcode: 300137
Naman Howell's very own John Palmer has the privilege of serving as local counsel in this matter. We will provide updates here during trial for those unable to listen to the entirety.
Mark your calendars: May 13, 2021 from 11:30am - 12:15pm CT
Judge Alan Albright, who oversees the nation's busiest patent docket right here in Waco, Texas, will sit down with McKool Smith Principal Kat Li, for a great discussion regarding his practices and procedures and all things patent litigation in WDTX.
Registration is free and all are invited.
This event is sponsored by the Austin Asian American Bar Association (AAABA). For more information about AAABA and its mission to serve the Asian-Pacific American community in Austin and the surrounding areas ...
The jury has reached a verdict in Case No. 6:21-cv-299, VLSI Technology LLC V. Intel Corporation.
A Waco Texas jury found that Intel did not infringe the claims of the 2 asserted patents.
VLSI asked the jury to award over $3 billion in damages, alleging that Intel infringed two patents related to computer chip technology.
This is the second of three trials between VLSI and Intel where VLSI alleges that Intel's computer chips infringe VLSI's patents. In the first case, No. 6:21-cv-57, the Waco jury awarded VLSI over $2 billion after finding that Intel infringed the two asserted patents ...
One of our wonderful contributors, Andy Powell, a partner at Naman Howell Smith & Lee in Waco, was quoted in Law360 discussing the impact Judge Albright has had on the patent litigation scene here in the Waco Division:
"He's very knowledgeable on patent law," said Naman Howell Smith & Lee PLLC member Andy Powell of Judge Albright. "He really knows the case law very well, and he has an absolute passion for it."
Powell, who is based in Judge Albright's Waco division and has been practicing in the Western District for nearly 20 years, said that the judge's predecessor, Judge Walter Scott ...
Now that the next Waco patent jury trial is less than two weeks away (see previous post HERE), it's time to discuss Judge Albright's proposed procedure for the upcoming jury selection. When we were invited to the courthouse to see a demonstration of the new technology (see previous post HERE), Judge Albright discussed his current plans for voir dire to ensure that all health and safety precautions are taken, noting that he is open to input from the parties as well.
Although the courtroom would allow for 42 prospective jurors in the courtroom at once, the number will be limited to ...
Judge Albright, who has presided over patent cases in multiple Divisions within the Western District of Texas, appears to have issued his first order denying a motion to transfer venue for convenience from the Waco Division to the Austin Division. Until this point, he has generally been very open to intra-district transfers for convenience, both opposed and unopposed.
Case No. 6:20-cv-108 (ParkerVision, Inc. v. Intel Corp.) was filed in the Waco Division in February 2020. On July 10, 2020, Intel moved to transfer the case under § 1404(a) to the District of Oregon or, alternatively ...
Yesterday, the Federal Circuit denied Intel's latest petition for writ of mandamus, declining to vacate Judge Albright's December 31 Order re-transferring Case No. 6:19-cv-254 (now Case No. 6:21-cv-57) back to Waco from Austin (See previous post detailing Intel's petition HERE). Thus, VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corp. appears to be headed to a jury in the Waco Division on February 16.
The three-judge panel consisting of Chief Judge Prost, and Circuit Judges Lourie and Chen (the same panel that granted Intel's first mandamus petition in this case - see previous post HERE), stated ...
On December 23, the Federal Circuit appeared to give Intel an early Christmas present by granting Intel’s Petition for Writ of Mandamus, vacating the previously set trial date of January 11, 2020 in Waco (see our previous post HERE regarding Intel's petition and the November 20 transfer back to the Waco Division). However, the Circuit Court was very deliberate in its limited holding and, more importantly, explicit in what it was not holding, overtly stating “we do not hold that the district court lacks the ability to effectuate holding trial in the Waco Division.”
The Federal ...
Yesterday marks the entry of the 11th supplemental order from Chief Judge Garcia regarding Court operations in WDTX during the pandemic. The evolution of the Court’s orders regarding COVID can all be accessed HERE.
The 11th Order is substantially similar to last month's order and essentially extends the status quo through January 31, 2021. As a general rule, all jury trials scheduled to begin through January 31, 2021 are continued. Bench trials may proceed if they can be conducted with appropriate safety precautions.
The Order also affirms divisional discretion to proceed ...
An updated Order Governing Proceedings in Patent Cases (OGP Version 3.2) is set to be released shortly in the Waco Division. Expect two main changes: (1) non-simultaneous claim construction briefing; and (2) default limits on pre-Markman discovery. As always, when the final version is released, we will provide a more comprehensive breakdown of the changes.
Non-Simultaneous Claim Construction Briefing: For better or for worse, the Court has done away with simultaneous claim construction briefing! Many attorneys have a love/hate relationship with this practice so this marks a ...
Jury selection in MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku, Inc. is set for October 1 and will mark the first jury selected for a patent trial since Judge Albright took the bench in 2018. Here are a few notable procedures for jury selection: (1) the specific Patent Juror Questionnaire; and (2) voir dire will be conducted before Magistrate Judge Manske, not Judge Albright.
Judge Albright's Standing Orders now includes a Patent Juror Questionnaire to be filled out by prospective jurors prior to voir dire. In addition to typical demographic and biographical information, the current Questionnaire ...
On October 5, Judge Albright is set to preside over his first patent jury trial since taking the bench. MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku, Inc. is not only set to be Judge Albright’s first patent jury trial, but also the first jury trial in the Waco Division since the COVID-19 pandemic essentially halted all jury trials. The trial was supposed to occur in early summer but was continued multiple times due to the pandemic.
Judge Albright has exercised his discretion per the WDTX Seventh Supplemental Order (see previous post HERE) to resume jury trials in the Waco Division. In his Divisional Standing ...
Judge Albright has posted a revised Order Governing Proceedings (OGP) for Patent Cases under his Standing Orders. Here are the key changes to be aware of:
Discovery:
Venue and jurisdictional discovery permitted pre-Markman:
The Order previously stayed discovery until after the Markman hearing except for claim construction related discovery or exceptional circumstances. However, Judge Albright routinely permitted parties’ requests to conduct targeted venue and jurisdictional discovery in conjunction with such motions. As a result, these two categories of discovery are ...
Judge Albright has recently updated the Court's website to include examples of previous technology tutorials that he has found to be particularly helpful. These should provide an example for counsel looking to craft a tech tutorial in Judge Albright's Court in the future.
If presented well, tech tutorials can provide a very useful overview of the underlying technology to the court. If presented poorly, they can be a waste of time or even set a negative tone for the Markman that counsel probably wants to avoid. Although not required, Judge Albright’s standing order governing patent ...
We have received notice from Judge Albright that there will be no in person attendance at civil hearings in cases in his court until May 1. A General Order will likely issue in the coming days to commemorate this. We will keep everyone updated as the situation evolves.
As can be seen based on the number of Orders issuing from the Court each day, the Court is working very hard to not let the current uncertainty disrupt the progression of its pending cases.
Please stay safe and healthy everyone and #flattenthecurve
With the exception of discovery necessary for claim construction, the default patent scheduling order in Waco stays all other discovery until after the Markman hearing. This seems to offer protection against costly discovery on the front-end, until a crucial and determinative point is reached in the case: claim construction.
However, for those parties worried that this process could delay proceedings, pre-Markman discovery is permitted by agreement of the parties or by request, when the circumstances demonstrate the necessity. There are also other safeguards in place to ...
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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.