States Can’t Invoke Immunity as Plaintiffs to Pick Patent Venue (1)

A state can’t claim sovereign immunity in a bid to file a patent infringement lawsuit in a venue of its choice, the Federal Circuit has ruled.

A federal court in Texas isn’t the proper venue for the state-owned University of Texas to bring a patent lawsuit against Boston Scientific Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Sept. 5. The appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that the case belongs in Delaware.

“State sovereign immunity does not apply where a State acts solely as a plaintiff,” and only applies to suits brought against a state, the ...