District Court, Delaware

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (D. Del.), part of the Third Circuit, is located in Wilmington, Delaware. The court is a preeminent venue for patent litigation, consistently ranking among the top five federal districts nationally for patent filings and often leading in patent cases per authorized judgeship. In 2022, D. Del. received 668 new patent filings, constituting 17% of all nationwide patent cases, and patent litigation accounted for 40% of its civil docket. It is particularly dominant in Hatch-Waxman (ANDA) patent cases, handling 63% of such cases nationwide in 2022.

While not formally designated a "rocket docket," the District of Delaware emphasizes efficient case management, with time to trial generally shorter than in some other high-volume patent districts. Its reputation is built on judicial sophistication, docket reliability, and a well-developed body of patent precedent, rather than a perceived bias towards plaintiffs or defendants. The court's approach to transfer motions varies by judge; some judges give paramount weight to a plaintiff's choice of forum regardless of the plaintiff's physical location, while others may afford less weight if the plaintiff is not physically situated in Delaware. The Supreme Court's 2017 TC Heartland decision significantly impacted patent venue, and the Federal Circuit has ordered transfers out of Delaware even for Delaware-incorporated defendants if connections to the forum are minimal. The D. Del. bench frequently opts for bench trials in Hatch-Waxman cases to thoroughly evaluate technical merits and witness credibility, though it also led the nation in patent jury trials in 2022, with 13 cases reaching a verdict.

The District of Delaware does not have a uniform set of local patent rules; instead, patent litigation is governed by individual judges' practices and model scheduling orders. A distinctive local rule, Rule 3.2, requires copies of asserted patents to be attached to the complaint. Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly has issued significant standing orders that affect patent cases, including requirements for the disclosure of third-party litigation funding arrangements, modified scheduling orders for non-Hatch-Waxman cases, and unique procedures for summary judgment and Daubert motions. These procedures often require parties to rank multiple dispositive motions, with the court potentially only reviewing the highest-ranked motion.

Among the tracked cases, Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Alkem Labs. Ltd. (1:24-cv-00784), an ANDA case filed on July 3, 2024, concluded with a consent judgment signed by Judge Maryellen Noreika on January 13, 2026, including an injunction against Alkem's generic tacrolimus product. Judge Noreika also presided over a Markman hearing in that case on October 20, 2025. Another ongoing ANDA case, Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Glenmark Pharms. Inc. (1:25-cv-00458), filed on April 14, 2025, has a claim construction hearing scheduled for July 1, 2026, and a bench trial set for February 8, 2027.

The court currently has four District Judges and four Magistrate Judges. Prominent judges handling patent cases include Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly, Judge Maryellen Noreika, Judge Gregory B. Williams, and Judge Richard G. Andrews (who was expected to take senior status at the end of 2023). Magistrate Judges often assist with the heavy patent docket, with their assignments sometimes rotating. Judge Noreika's involvement in the Veloxis v. Alkem case illustrates her active role in the court's substantial pharmaceutical patent docket.