In late January, Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX) ordered attorney Randall Gartesier to “relearn the fundamentals of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure” after he misled the court and ignored basic legal standards regarding venue selection. Gartesier’s actions, which landed him 60 hours of mandatory legal education and ethics training, underscore the lengths to which patent trolls will go to prolong frivolous and undue litigation.
Symbology Innovations sued the online game store operator Valve, claiming infringement of a barcode technology patent owned by Leigh Rothschild, a notorious backer of patent trolls. Rothschild, who dubs himself a “modern-day Edison” for owning more than 130 patents, has never actually brought a product to market. Instead, he employs a team of researchers and patent attorneys to identify alleged infringers and bring nuisance lawsuits. Far from Edison, Rothschild and his affiliated non-practicing entities, like Symbology, have earned a reputation as “bullies” against legitimate operating companies.
Since the case was originally filed in September 2023, Symbology has repeatedly argued for the case to be heard in EDTX – despite the fact that Valve “didn’t own or rent property in Texas and didn’t work with Texas-based Gearbox to develop the accused products.” Ignoring clear case law that refuted their position, as well as Valve’s refutations of their allegations, Symbology continued filing amended complaints with the same erroneous venue justification.
This is part of the now well-known trend of patent trolls seeking out EDTX and WDTX. Judge Gilstrap has long had one of the largest patent litigation dockets in the country and once issued a standing order banning the term “patent troll” from his courtroom, deeming it unfair “name-calling.” This and other rulings viewed as plaintiff-friendly has made him a favored jurist among attorneys seeking litigation venues.
What’s striking here is that Judge Gilstrap, who reclaimed the title of busiest district judge for patent litigation nationwide, found this brazen attempt to keep the case in his courtroom to be too much, concluding that “an objectively reasonable attorney would not believe and would not have alleged — four times — that venue was proper.”
As readers of Patent Progress know, judge shopping is a common tactic used by patent trolls to try to gain an advantage in their litigation. The practice became so problematic in recent years that Chief Justice John Roberts highlighted it as a concern in his 2021 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Senate leaders of both parties introduced competing bills to curb the practice, and the U.S. Judicial Conference instructed federal districts to introduce reforms themselves. Amid the mounting pressure, a district-wide randomization order was imposed in WDTX, though no such standard exists in EDTX.
As Texas remains a hotspot for patent litigation, it’s notable that Judge Alan Albright – who has single-handedly made Waco Division of WDTX a hub for patent cases – has responded to the randomization order by relocating to Austin, where settlement-hungry plaintiffs are already following him.
The Symbology case is a clear example of how patent trolls try to exploit the legal system. It’s nice to see Judge Gilstrap draw the line, as patent trolls continue to manipulate commonsense venue standards for their own benefit.
Reforming judge shopping is critical to preventing baseless claims from continuing to hamper innovation. With initiatives like the Judicial Conference’s guidance on random assignment of patent cases, there is hope that this practice will be phased out, paving the way for a fairer legal system.
