Recently, an academic paper has shed light on the shifting landscape of patent lawsuit filings in the Texas judiciary system following modifications in previous assignment protocols. A 71% plummet in the rate of new patent filings in the Western District of Texas-Waco Division was observed in the 18 months following a change in assignment rules mandated by a federal judge. The new rule mandated random assignment of cases.
Now, based on a deeper statistical analysis, the tendency for patent filings to shift to other courts, with a particular rise being in the Eastern District of Texas, has been noted. This tendency, according to the academic study, seems to back arguments advocating for increasing the randomness of judicial assignments as a potential technique to overcome judge shopping.
Noting the drop specifically in “new” cases which do not relate back to prior cases, Brian Love has indicated that the interest in the district seems to have fallen considerably. Whether this fall translates to a waning influence of Judge Albright following the implication of random-assignment rule remains a topic of further deliberation and analysis.