U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (Judge Richard G. Andrews)

Court Profile: U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (Judge Richard G. Andrews)

Court overview. The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware sits in Wilmington and is the only federal district in the Third Circuit's home state. It remains one of the most significant patent forums in the country: in the first half of 2026 it was the second-busiest district for patent litigation overall (after the Eastern District of Texas) and the most popular venue for patent suits filed by operating companies, capturing roughly a quarter of defendants added nationally in Q1/Q2 2026 (RPX). Delaware also records among the highest patent-case loads per active judgeship nationwide, per the court's 2026 Annual Report.

Docket reputation. Delaware is not a "rocket docket" in the Eastern District of Texas mold. Its reputation rests instead on its concentration of ANDA/Hatch-Waxman and operating-company disputes, sophisticated Delaware-incorporated defendants, and a heavy per-judge caseload. Because virtually every major corporation is incorporated in Delaware, venue challenges are comparatively rare and difficult; published Docket Navigator data suggest transfer motions historically resolve relatively quickly (median roughly 8 months) while jury trials trend toward roughly 2–3 years from filing. A large majority of Delaware patent cases — analytics suggest well over 90% — resolve through dismissal or settlement rather than verdict. Delaware is best described as a technically sophisticated, procedurally rigorous venue rather than a plaintiff- or defendant-friendly one, and no reliable published analysis supports either label.

Local rules and procedures. Delaware is distinctive for having no uniform local patent rules. Instead, the court's "Default Standard" and each judge's form scheduling order set deadlines for initial patent disclosures and infringement/validity contentions, with claim construction typically scheduled around the Rule 16 conference. Judge Andrews' form order, for example, caps claim-construction briefs by word count (5,000 opening / 7,500 answering). Chief Judge Colm Connolly requires good cause to amend contentions and issued 2022 standing orders requiring disclosure of third-party litigation funding and corporate ownership — widely credited with driving Delaware's post-2022 filing dip (DLA Piper). Local Rule 7.1.3's briefing-structure requirements are enforced strictly: in Jackson v. NuVasive (C.A. No. 21-53-RGA), Judge Andrews denied summary judgment because the movant buried its argument in a 1,600-page expert report instead of complying with the rule. The court published proposed local-rule revisions in February 2026 (its first since 2016), adding ANDA-specific filing requirements for patent cases.

Notable cases. The tracked case here, Manufacturing Resources International, Inc. v. Civiq Smartscapes, LLC et al. (No. 17-269-RGA, filed Mar. 14, 2017), went through extensive Markman proceedings before Judge Andrews — including an unusually detailed 2018 claim-construction opinion covering eight display-cooling patents and a follow-up 2019 construction of "rear surface of the electronic display" — plus Daubert and summary-judgment rulings, before being dismissed with prejudice. Judge Andrews has also handled the multi-district Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) patent litigation (20-md-2930-RGA), where he granted Novartis summary judgment on preclusion grounds in January 2026, and United Therapeutics v. Liquidia (23-975-RGA), a high-stakes pulmonary-drug dispute. His 2021 Peloton Interactive v. ICON Health & Fitness opinion — holding "translator device" limitations invalid as indefinite under § 112 ¶ 6 — is a widely cited example of his means-plus-function jurisprudence.

Judges. The judges most associated with Delaware's patent docket are Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly (whose standing orders on funding disclosure and briefing word limits shape the docket), Judge Maryellen Noreika (a former patent prosecutor with an extensive ANDA docket), Judge Gregory B. Williams, and Richard G. Andrews — the judge in the tracked case. Andrews, a 2011 Obama appointee, took senior status around 2025 and, per the 2025 Bench & Bar conference, is no longer accepting new patent cases while continuing to handle other matters; his existing docket (including the tracked Civiq Smartscapes matter) reflects a practice of tentative constructions before argument, plain-and-ordinary-meaning constructions, and strict enforcement of local briefing rules.