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Partner John Sganga Comments on TC Heartland v. Kraft Food Brands Group Case

Partner John Sganga was quoted in “Foreign Cos. Expected To Test Venue Rules After TC Heartland,” an article published in Law 360.

Excerpt: Foreign companies could be at the center of another round of legal battles over patent venue following the U.S Supreme Court's decision to limit where U.S. companies can be sued, as patent owners look for ways around the restrictions and foreign companies work to stay out of plaintiff-friendly districts.

The federal law covering patent venue says lawsuits can be filed where a defendant resides or where it has infringed and has a regular and established place of business. Ruling last month in TC Heartland v. Kraft Food Brands Group, the Supreme Court said “resides” means the place of incorporation.

The decision upended the Federal Circuit’s more broad interpretation of the term, which allowed a company to be sued just about anywhere it made sales. But the justices were careful to say the ruling applied only to domestic corporations and did not extend to foreign companies.

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