Eastern District of Texas (E.D. Tex.)

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (E.D. Tex.) is a federal court within the Fifth Circuit, though patent claims are appealed to the Federal Circuit. The court maintains multiple divisions across East Texas, including headquarters in Tyler and courthouses in Beaumont, Lufkin, Marshall, Plano, Sherman, and Texarkana. The E.D. Tex. has consistently ranked as the busiest patent venue in the country, reclaiming its dominant status in recent years. In 2025, it fielded 1,245 patent cases, accounting for 25.7 percent of all federal patent suits nationwide. This robust patent docket often surpasses the combined filings in the Western District of Texas and the District of Delaware.

The E.D. Tex. has a long-standing reputation as a "rocket docket" due to its expedited trial schedules and, historically, a plaintiff-friendly environment for patent litigation. While the Supreme Court's 2017 TC Heartland decision aimed to restrict venue, patent filings in the E.D. Tex. have rebounded, partly due to strategies involving foreign defendants and courts' broad interpretation of personal jurisdiction. The court has a track record of jury trials resulting in substantial damage awards; for instance, six of the ten largest patent damage awards issued by juries in 2025 came from East Texas. Recent Federal Circuit mandamus rulings have, however, emphasized that transfer motions are a top priority, discouraging reliance on aggressive trial settings to defeat transfer.

The Eastern District of Texas operates under distinctive Local Patent Rules (LPRs), detailed in Section V of its Local Rules, which govern various aspects of patent cases. These rules outline specific deadlines for the disclosure of asserted claims, infringement contentions, and invalidity contentions, with eligibility contentions also due concurrently with invalidity contentions. The LPRs also set forth procedures for claim construction, including the exchange of preliminary claim constructions, extrinsic evidence, and the filing of joint claim construction and prehearing statements.

Among the active patent cases tracked in the E.D. Tex. are Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC v. ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. and Velocity Communication Technologies, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. These cases are part of the ongoing patent litigation within the district. The court frequently sees notable patent verdicts, such as a cellular standard essential patent (SEP) case against Apple, which saw one jury award $500M in damages, later trimmed to $300M in a damages retrial.

Several judges are prominent in the district's patent litigation landscape. Judge J. Rodney Gilstrap, based in the Marshall division, is widely recognized as the busiest patent judge in the country, presiding over nearly 20 percent of all patent cases nationwide over the last three years and 19% of all new patent litigation in 2025. Other active judges in patent matters include Chief Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III, and Judge Robert W. Schroeder III. The concentration of patent cases before these experienced judges contributes significantly to the district's efficient case management culture.