Indiana Southern District Court

Patent Litigation Profile: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Last Updated: April 30, 2026

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, a federal court within the Seventh Circuit, handles a modest but consistent patent litigation docket. With divisions in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evansville, and New Albany, the court is not considered one of the nation's busiest patent venues, such as the Western District of Texas or the District of Delaware, but it regularly presides over patent infringement disputes. Its docket includes cases involving local industries, such as life sciences and manufacturing, alongside disputes common to federal courts nationwide.

The court has a reputation for its structured and orderly management of patent cases rather than for being a "rocket docket" with exceptionally fast trial times. While specific statistics on its average time-to-trial for patent cases are not consistently published in major legal analytics reports, the court's procedures emphasize a detailed and methodical progression of cases. There is no strong, data-backed reputation for this district being exceptionally plaintiff- or defendant-friendly. Rulings on transfer motions do not appear to follow a notable trend that differs from standard Seventh Circuit practice.

Distinct from courts that have adopted comprehensive, standalone local patent rules, the Southern District of Indiana manages its patent caseload through a detailed and mandatory Uniform Patent Case Management Plan (CMP). Revised as recently as 2021, the CMP provides a multi-track framework that dictates specific deadlines for key stages of litigation, including initial disclosures, the exchange of infringement and invalidity contentions, and claim construction (Markman) briefing. For example, the plan sets deadlines for filing Markman briefs as early as 270 days from the case's anchor date, demonstrating a structured approach to moving cases toward claim construction.

The court has handled a variety of patent disputes, including a significant multi-district litigation (MDL) involving patents on extracting corn oil from ethanol byproducts, which resulted in a notable $15 million award of attorneys' fees to the defendants after the patents were invalidated. The court has also been a venue for significant pharmaceutical patent litigation involving Indiana-based Eli Lilly and Company. Among the currently tracked cases are Benjamin Booher, JR. et al. v. Schutt Sports Inc. and Rare Breed Triggers Inc et al. v. Orion Arms Corp.

Several judges in the district have experience overseeing patent litigation. Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt and Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker have both presided over and authored substantive rulings in patent cases. Judge Barker, for instance, has conducted Markman hearings and issued detailed claim construction orders. Magistrate judges play a critical role in managing pretrial proceedings and discovery, with Magistrate Judge Crystal S. Wildeman and Magistrate Judge Kellie M. Barr both assigned to handle matters in recently filed patent cases.