Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act of 2016

To ensure that venue in patents cases is fair and proper, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act of 2016 2. Venue (a) Amendment Section 1400 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: (b) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) of section 1391, any civil action for patent infringement or any action for a declaratory judgment that a patent is invalid or not infringed may be brought only in a judicial district— (1) where the defendant has its principal place of business or is incorporated; (2) where the defendant has committed an act of infringement of a patent in suit and has a regular and established physical facility that gives rise to the act of infringement; (3) where the defendant has agreed or consented to be sued in the instant action; (4) where an inventor named on the patent in suit conducted research or development that led to the application for the patent in suit; (5) where a party has a regular and established physical facility that such party controls and operates, not primarily for the purpose of creating venue, and has— (A) engaged in management of significant research and development of an invention claimed in a patent in suit prior to the effective filing date of the patent; (B) manufactured a tangible product that is alleged to embody an invention claimed in a patent in suit; or (C) implemented a manufacturing process for a tangible good in which the process is alleged to embody an invention claimed in a patent in suit; or (6) in the case of a foreign defendant that does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) or (2), in accordance with section 1391(c)(3). . (b) Mandamus relief For the purpose of determining whether relief may issue under section 1651 of title 28, United States Code, a clearly and indisputably erroneous denial of a motion under section 1406(a) of such title to dismiss or transfer a case on the basis of section 1400(b) of such title shall be deemed to cause irremediable interim harm. (c) Teleworkers The dwelling or residence of an employee or contractor of a defendant who works at such dwelling or residence shall not constitute a regular and established physical facility of the defendant for purposes of section 1400(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, as added by subsection(a).

Summary: Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal judicial code to allow patent actions to be brought only in judicial districts where: the defendant has its principal place of business or is incorporated; the defendant has committed an act of infringement of a patent in suit and has a regular and established physical facility that gives rise to the act of infringement; the defendant has agreed or consented to be sued; an inventor named on the patent conducted research or development that led to the application for the patent in suit; or a party has a regular and established physical facility and has managed significant research and development for the invention claimed in the patent, has manufactured a tangible product alleged to embody that invention, or has implemented a manufacturing process for a tangible good in which the process is alleged to embody the invention. If a foreign defendant does not have a principal place of business, incorporation, or a physical facility in the United States, that foreign defendant may be sued in any judicial district, and joinder of such a defendant shall be disregarded in determining where the action may be brought with respect to other defendants. These provisions replace current patent action venue laws that allow patent actions to be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business. A teleworking employee's dwelling or residence shall not constitute a regular or established physical facility of a defendant.