WacoWatch

On December 21, 2022, Judge Albright resolved a discovery dispute between Fintiv and Apple, ordering Fintiv to provide Apple with answers in writing as to why emails were missing for 10 out of the 11 custodians Apple identified for production from Fintiv.

On March 1, 2022, Judge Albright granted Plaintiff IGT’s motion to compel. Specifically, Defendant Zynga must either produce technical documents and source code for each product identified in IGT’s preliminary infringement contentions, or it must provide discovery of an exemplary product that Zynga stipulates is representative of the uncharted games.

Judge Albright issued two new standing orders on June 16 and 17, 2021, which are now published on the Western District of Texas website.

Judge Albright announced his latest changes to his Order Governing Procedures in the Waco Division of the Western District of Texas, including a new rule regarding transfer discovery and new staged (versus simultaneous) Markman briefing.

On July 28, 2020, the Federal Circuit Bar Association and Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, in cooperation with The Sedona Conference, presented a panel discussion on hard issues in patent infringement litigation today: the current state of play for willfulness, patent eligibility, FRAND, and ways to manage the uncertainty of each. 

Federal Circuit Appellate Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley and Federal District Court Judges Alan D. Albright (WDTX) and Cathy Ann Bencivengo (CASD) joined The Sedona Conference Patent Litigation Working Group Chairs Matt Powers and Eric Hutz for an engaging discussion on these issues.

Plaintiff Optic153 LLC filed suit against Defendant Thorlabs Inc. on November 18, 2019, alleging infringement of one patent. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue, and Plaintiff sought leave to seek targeted venue discovery against Defendant, specifically regarding Defendant’s corporate relationship with its subsidiary.

Defendant (and patent owner) Performance Chemical Company served Amended Infringement Contentions (AICs) approximately six months into fact discovery and over two months after the Court’s deadline to serve Amended Infringement Contentions. The AICs identified new accused products and provided Defendant’s infringement allegations as to these new products.

On April 30, 2020, Judge Albright held a telephonic hearing in the Castlemorton v. Bose matter, 6:20-cv-00029-ADA. During the hearing, the Court addressed Bose’s motion to dismiss the only claim in the Complaint—Claim 6 of U.S Patent No. 7,835,421—on indefiniteness grounds.

Finding the amendment to plaintiff MV3’s final infringement contentions “important because it allows MV3 to fully present its infringement contentions,” the court granted MV3’s motion to amend its final infringement contentions.