8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 1/12

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federaljudge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20e059a3717.html

Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new

federal judge

Tommy Witherspoon

Jan 18, 2020

Only $5 for 5 months

Ex. 6, p. 1

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 1 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 2/12

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright and attorneys who predicted last year that Waco’s

federal court would become a hotbed of patent and intellectual property litigation

missed their prediction just a bit.

With Albright traveling the country drumming up business and patent attorneys

spreading the word that Waco’s new federal judge, a longtime patent litigator, will

provide the expertise to create an efficient and welcoming environment in Waco, the

response in the past year actually exceeded those predictions.

Since Albright took office in September 2018, more than 250 patent cases have been

filed in the federal Western District of Texas, which includes Waco. That total eclipses

the number for the previous four years combined and has made the Western District

Since Judge Alan Albright took office in September 2018, more than 250 patent cases have been filed in the

federal Western District of Texas, which includes Waco. That total eclipses the number for the previous four years

combined.

Staff photo — Jerry Larson, file

Ex. 6, p. 2

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 2 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 3/12

among the busiest in the country for patent cases. Also, civil lawsuit filings of all

manner in Waco’s federal court have doubled from an average of about 350 to about

725 last year.

“I don’t know how we could have had a more productive year,” Albright said. “It was

really pretty amazing. I give 99 percent of the credit to the fact that I have had a lot of

lawyers who have contributed a ton of time to help me come up with rules to ensure

people who file here and who sue here feel like they are going to get a completely fair

trial and fair litigation. There are a lot of people who are making this a good venue for

patent cases.”

With Albright on the bench, at least three intellectual property law firms have

announced plans to open offices in Waco, and local firms are beefing up their

intellectual property practices.

And Albright said the number of attorneys from outside the Waco division and the

Western District of Texas seeking permission to practice in his court has increased by

at least 200%.

Ex. 6, p. 3

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 3 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 4/12

With the flurry of activity surrounding the court, it begs the question why Albright,

with a fresh lifetime appointment and a healthy civil and criminal docket, is going out

of his way to solicit more cases, which equates to more work for him.

“I didn’t come to this job to retire,” Albright said. “I came to this job and I took this job

in Waco because I thought it was the perfect place to try and establish a serious venue

for sophisticated patent litigation, and it has proven to be just that.

“There is nothing I enjoy more than working on patent cases. I think, by and large, the

lawyers are exceptional and the issues before me are always intellectually challenging.

I couldn’t imagine a better docket than what I’ve got. I feel unbelievably lucky.”

Albright, David Henry, who has taught patent law and litigation at the Baylor

University Law School for 26 years, and other attorneys predicted the Waco court’s

intellectual property business was on the verge of a major expansion, especially in the

wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the scope of venues lawyers can

choose for filing cases.

With all the high-tech industry in Austin, which also is in the Western District, the

environment was ripe for intellectual property litigation to take off in this area,

attorneys say.

Ex. 6, p. 4

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 4 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 5/12

Before, the East Texas town of Marshall was considered the mecca for patent litigation

after innovative Judge T. John Ward, a Baylor Law graduate, created a friendly

environment for such cases in the federal Eastern District of Texas.

But the Western District has closed the gap considerably, and attorneys say Albright,

who excelled in patent litigation for more than two decades, and the venue-limiting

high court ruling, are the reasons.

“There was literally no way I could have predicted that the growth would happen with

the speed that it happened,” Albright said. “I would have been very pleased and felt

very successful if we had been half as successful in terms of the numbers. I am

unbelievably lucky, but we have worked hard.”

Henry announced in January that he will become a partner at Gray Reed, a 140-lawyer

firm moving a new office into the eighth floor of the Texas Life Building, within sight of

the downtown federal courthouse.

Ex. 6, p. 5

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 5 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 6/12

He, too, said the rapid growth in intellectual property cases in Waco “far exceeded” his

most optimistic predictions from last year. He credits Albright’s dedication, expertise

and innovation for the increased intellectual property business, which he said will have

a profound ripple effect on Waco and its economy.

“Judge Albright is a person who is very, very principle-driven,” he said. “He takes the

position and the social responsibility very, very seriously. It’s something he thinks

about all the time. I’ve heard him say on numerous occasions, ‘I want to get this right.’

“And one aspect of getting it right for him is giving patent litigants another option for

taking or defending their patent cases in a forum with someone who truly is an expert

in that field.”

Albright has streamlined the process by establishing innovative local rules that could

knock down the average time to bring a patent case to trial from 21⁄2 years to 18

months, Henry said. Or at least that is the goal.

Ex. 6, p. 6

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 6 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 7/12

“I would hazard to guess that most federal district courts do not have a great deal of

patent litigation experience, or prior knowledge, and that can manifest itself in a

number of ways that can really adversely affect both sides of the docket,” Henry said.

“Does the court, law clerks and staff have knowledge and expertise to handle patent

cases? Do they have special local rules and standing orders where everybody knows

what the game is, so to speak? Judge Albright has put in place very specific and

sometimes very innovative rules and procedures for dealing with patent cases that

really make it a very efficient and very pleasant place to bring a case, or defend a case,

either side.”

Albright hired Josh Yi, who has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and a decade of legal

experience, as his law clerk.

“When people file here, I think they can feel comfortable with my 20 years in patent

experience and his 10 years as a lawyer and his technical background that they will get

a fair process with someone who knows what he is doing,” Albright said.

Albright said he is set to try his first patent case in April in Midland. The first patent

trial in Waco is set in July, he said.

Albright credits U.S. Magistrate Jeffrey C. Manske for taking on more duties from

Albright’s docket, including hearing felony pleas of guilt and presiding over many

discovery issues in civil suits, to help offset the patent load Albright is carrying.

Ex. 6, p. 7

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 7 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 8/12

“Without Jeff Manske, I would be drowning.” Albright said. “He is literally keeping me

afloat.”

One way Albright has streamlined the process in patent cases is to invite lawyers to call

him when they are having difficulties agreeing on discovery issues, setting depositions

or other matters. In many courts, attorneys file motions to compel the other side to act

and drag the process down by scheduling numerous hearings, Henry said.

“Judge Albright says, ‘Call me and I will sort this out,’” Henry said.

Waco law firm Haley & Olson announced in March it was combining forces with

Mann, Tindel and Thompson, an East Texas firm that specializes in patent litigation,

to capitalize on the new focus of the Waco federal court.

Ex. 6, p. 8

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 8 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20... 9/12

“I think it has been pretty active,” longtime Haley & Olson attorney Herb Bristow said.

“Judge Albright has proven to be easy to work with and efficient, and he has a really

good staff and really good clerks. It is a really impressive trial docket. That is what you

like to see.

“He has really done a good job of making it an efficient courthouse. He is just very

good at what he does and is very efficient in getting the little things worked out.”

0 comments 

Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Tommy Witherspoon

Staff writer at the Waco Tribune-Herald covering courts and criminal justice. Follow me on Twitter

@TSpoonFeed.

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and

privacy policy.

Baylor tennis coach's resignation followed

investigation of messages to student

Aug 21, 2020

Most Popular

Email Address Sign up!

Ex. 6, p. 9

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 9 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b2... 10/12

Police: Waco man stole FedEx truck from

driver, abandoned it before taking jewelry

from another car

Aug 21, 2020

Adavit: Crawford chief 's evidence tampering

arrest related to sexual misconduct

investigation against him

Aug 21, 2020

Rangers arrest Crawford police chief on

tampering with evidence charge

Aug 20, 2020

Adavits: Shooting suspect used dating app to

'lure' victims

19 hrs ago

Robinson man arrested, accused of sexually abusing 4-year-old

Aug 18, 2020

Waco man indicted in shooting death of

girlfriend at her birthday party

Aug 20, 2020

Ex. 6, p. 10

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 10 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b2... 11/12

Teen charged with attempted murder, named

suspect in 3 Waco shootings tied to app used

by gay men

Aug 21, 2020

McLennan County aims to oer bounty on

feral hogs

Aug 20, 2020

Adavit: Drunk driver who rammed car

claimed to be chasing pedophile

Aug 13, 2020

Ex. 6, p. 11

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 11 of 12
8/25/2020 Waco becoming hotbed for intellectual property cases with new federal judge | Local News | wacotrib.com

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b2... 12/12

Ex. 6, p. 12

Case 6:20-cv-00366-ADA Document 34-7 Filed 08/31/20 Page 12 of 12