Patent owners afforded a new case track in the E.D. of Texas

By Jean G. Vidal Font, Ferraiuoli LLC

Patent owners should place close attention to the developments in the “Rocket Docket” court of the Eastern District of Texas. On February 25, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an alternative case management order for patent cases titled “Track B”. Under Track B, which is optional, a greater emphasis will be placed on determining damages at an early stage of the case. Once the parties consent to the Track B scheduling order, an accelerated schedule will kick into effect, with the initial important stages being:

1) Within 14 days of all defendants filing either an answer to the complaint or a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff will serve the infringement contentions and accompanying production in compliance with the E.D. Texas Patent Rules 3-1 and 3-2 (Infringement contentions and document disclosures).

2) Within 30 days of receiving the infringement contentions, all parties will serve the initial disclosures, including all products identified in the infringement contentions and all reasonably similar products.

3) Within 14 days of the initial disclosures being served, plaintiffs will file a good faith estimate of its expected damages, including a summary description of the method used to determine it. It is important to note that the good faith estimate is non-binding to the plaintiff.

4) Following the service of the good faith estimate, the defendants will file their invalidity contentions within 14 days.

5) Within 5 days of service of the invalidity contentions, plaintiff shall file a notice that the case is ready for the management conference.

Track B will also limit the amount of discovery to be made between the parties and will try to place a damages evaluation prior to the more complicated invalidity determination. With Track B, patent owners could have a quicker (yet more intense) route to enforce their patents in the E.D. Texas. Counsels should take note and evaluate if Track B is right for their client, as this is not a one-size fits all measure.

Ferraiuoli LLC

Ferraiuoli LLC (FLLC) was founded in 2003 by the late Blas Ferraiuoli-Martínez, Eugenio Torres-Oyola and María Marchand-Sánchez. This group was then joined in 2004 by Fernando J. Rovira-Rullán, thus forming the founding core of FLLC. FLLC has grown exponentially since its founding from a law firm with three attorneys and a support staff of three to its current size of 54 attorneys with a support staff of 38. Also, FLLC has grown from initially being known as an intellectual property and corporate law boutique law firm to a multiservice law firm that handles most matters relevant to a business while continuing to earn praise for its leading intellectual property and corporate practices.

FLLC has been ranked as a leading law firm in Puerto Rico by the professional publication Chambers Latin America in intellectual property, corporate, bankruptcy, labor & employment, real estate, and tax law. Moreover, 17 FLLC partners have been ranked as leaders in their field by the same publication. 4 FLLC partners are ranked as leaders in Intellectual Property, no other firm has more than 2. This recognition in such a short period of time is a tribute to FLLC’s business model.

FLLC prides itself in doing its work faster and more cost-efficiently yet with the same quality as that of its main competitors. The founding name partners are available at all times to attend to client matters. Their work ethic sets the tone for the rest of the firm. FLLC’s founders’ goal has been steady from the outset: become one of the premier multiservice law firms in Puerto Rico.

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