U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (N.D. Ind.) operates within the Seventh Circuit, with divisional offices located in Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette, and South Bend. While it handles intellectual property disputes, the Northern District of Indiana does not rank among the federal districts with the highest volume of patent litigation filings. In 2025, the top five district courts for patent cases were the Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of Delaware, Northern District of Illinois, and District of New Jersey, with N.D. Ind. not appearing on lists of high-volume patent venues.

The N.D. Ind. does not have a reputation as a "rocket docket" for patent cases. A 2019 analysis identified it as one of the slowest federal courts for civil trials, with a median time-to-trial of 41.6 months. Similarly, 2016 data showed an average time from filing to trial of 40.0 months for patent cases. No general reputation for being particularly plaintiff- or defendant-friendly in patent disputes, or specific trends regarding transfer motions or the prevalence of jury versus bench trials, were reliably sourced.

The Northern District of Indiana has implemented its own comprehensive Local Patent Rules (N.D. Ind. L.P.R.) to govern patent litigation. These rules mandate early disclosures, including detailed infringement and invalidity contentions with accompanying claim charts. The court aims for efficiency in claim construction, endeavoring to conduct Markman hearings within 63 days after briefing completion and to issue prompt claim construction orders thereafter. The rules emphasize strict compliance, with potential sanctions for non-adherence.

While the court tracks a limited number of patent cases, one noteworthy ruling is from Westwood One, LLC v. Aloft Media, LLC in 2022, where Chief Judge Holly A. Brady denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings, determining that patents related to audio network systems were patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101, as they were directed to specific technical improvements. Another recent example, Pickuls Gizmo Ltd. v. The Partnerships... (2025), involved a pro se patent-related complaint against the USPTO which was swiftly dismissed in 19 days due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. The single case tracked by this site, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company v. Aloft Media, LLC et al., was terminated on June 2, 2025.

The N.D. Ind. currently has five active Article III judges and five senior judges, in addition to four magistrate judges. Prominent active judges include Chief Judge Holly A. Brady, Judge Philip P. Simon, Judge Damon R. Leichty, Judge Cristal C. Brisco, and Judge Gretchen S. Lund. Chief Judge Brady presided over the Westwood One patent eligibility ruling.