W.D. Tex.

Court Profile: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Court overview. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (W.D. Tex.), in the Fifth Circuit, spans divisions from El Paso to Waco, with its largest patent activity centered in Waco, Austin, and Midland-Odessa. After nearly a decade as the country's dominant patent venue, it remains the second-busiest patent district: Unified Patents reported it as the No. 2 venue for both total patent filings and NPE filings in 2025, and Lex Machina's 2026 report counted 531 new W.D. Tex. patent cases that year — behind only the Eastern District of Texas (1,245) and roughly even with Delaware. Patexia counted 3,480 W.D. Tex. patent filings between July 2020 and June 2025.

Patent docket reputation. The district earned "rocket docket" status under Judge Alan D. Albright, who openly recruited patent cases after joining the bench in 2018 and at his peak oversaw roughly a quarter of all U.S. patent filings. A Sedona Conference survey found W.D. Tex. among the fastest districts to trial (~29 months, just behind E.D. Tex.). Commentators (WSGR, RPX) have described Albright's practices as pro-patentee — early Markman hearings, reluctance to stay cases pending IPR, and a restrictive transfer posture — though the Federal Circuit repeatedly granted mandamus reversing his transfer denials (e.g., In re Apple, In re Tracfone, In re SK hynix, In re Atlassian). Jury trial outcomes under Albright were mixed between plaintiffs and defendants, but produced headline verdicts including a $2.18 billion award against Intel in 2021.

Local rules and procedures. W.D. Tex. has no district-wide patent local rules; procedure is governed by judge-specific standing orders. Albright's "Standing Order Governing Proceedings (OGP) — Patent Cases" set early claim construction (~six months after the case management conference), preliminary invalidity contentions within seven weeks of the CMC (including § 101 contentions), and tight venue-discovery limits (five interrogatories, ten RFPs, ten deposition hours). A July 2022 Assignment Order by Chief Judge Orlando Garcia ended Waco judge-shopping by randomly distributing Waco patent cases among 12 district judges, with a May 2024 amendment tightening same-judge consolidation of related campaigns. Judge David Counts later adopted a substantially similar patent standing order in Midland-Odessa.

Notable cases. The site's tracked case, Context Directions LLC v. Midland Nissan LLLP (No. 7:26-cv-00071), is a February 2026 new filing asserting U.S. Patent No. 10,142,791 (context-aware mobile device telematics) against a used-car dealership — part of a campaign Context Directions has also run in E.D. Tex. against dealerships. District-wide, the most prominent rulings remain the Waco jury verdicts in VLSI Technology v. Intel ($2.18 billion and $948 million) and the Federal Circuit's mandamus line reversing Albright on transfer timing.

Judges. Reliable sources point to Judge Alan D. Albright (Waco/Austin; former patent litigator; 158 W.D. Tex. patent cases in 2025 per Lex Machina) — who, as of this writing, is departing the bench at the end of August 2026 for private practice — and Judge Walter David Counts III (Midland-Odessa; former patent litigator; 337 patent cases in 2025, the district's most, and the No. 2 patent judge nationally in Q1 2025 per RPX). Judge Robert Pitman (Austin) also carries a substantial patent docket and tied for fifth nationally in 2024 per RPX. The assigned judge in the tracked case has not been confirmed in available sources and is not characterized here.