U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division

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

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, located in the seat of Texas state government and a major technology hub, is a component of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Western District as a whole has been the nation's busiest venue for patent litigation since 2020, at its peak handling nearly a quarter of all U.S. patent cases. While this surge was initially concentrated in the court's Waco Division, a July 2022 standing order mandating the random assignment of patent cases filed in Waco among a pool of judges has significantly increased the patent docket for judges in the Austin Division. In the first half of 2025, the Western District of Texas was the second most popular venue for patent litigation overall and for non-practicing entities (NPEs), with nearly 90% of its patent cases filed by NPEs.

The district's reputation as a plaintiff-friendly "rocket docket" stems largely from practices established by Judge Alan Albright, known for his patent expertise and fast-paced scheduling orders designed to bring cases to trial quickly. However, this characterization is not uniform across all judges in the district. Following increased oversight from the Federal Circuit, the court's approach to motions to transfer venue has matured, with a higher success rate for defendants seeking to move cases out of the district. For instance, Austin's Judge Robert Pitman has granted transfers to other districts, citing factors like witness convenience and a shorter median time-to-trial elsewhere.

The Western District of Texas has not adopted formal local patent rules. Instead, procedure is governed by individual judges' standing orders. The most influential of these is Judge Albright's "Order Governing Proceedings (OGP) — Patent Cases," which provides a detailed framework for discovery, infringement and invalidity contentions, and claim construction. A key feature of this order is the stay of most discovery, apart from that related to venue and claim construction, until after the Markman hearing, a practice intended to streamline litigation and encourage early resolution.

The most prominent patent judge in the district, Judge Alan Albright, now sits in the Austin Division. Despite the random assignment order, he continues to preside over more patent cases than any other judge in the country. The tracked case Qomplx LLC v. Microsoft Corporation, filed in August 2025, is assigned to Judge Albright. The suit alleges that Microsoft's cloud and cybersecurity products infringe six of Qomplx's patents. Judge Robert Pitman is another key judge in the Austin Division who now manages a substantial patent caseload and has developed a track record on issues like venue transfer and stays pending patent office reviews. Judge Lee Yeakel, who had presided over 400 patent cases in Austin, was another significant patent jurist before his retirement in May 2023.