In re TikTok: Fifth Circuit Implicitly Backs Federal Circuit’s Use of Mandamus to Transfer Cases Out of W.D.Tex.
Patent – Patently-O 2023-11-07
Summary:
by Dennis Crouch
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided an important convenient venue case. Granting TikTok’s mandamus petition to have its trade secret case transferred from W.D.Tex to N.D.Cal. The decision does not really break ground in the venue/mandamus debate, but does solidify the Federal Circuit’s parallel approach in patent cases out of the same district. In re TikTok Incorporated, — F.4th —-, 2023 WL 7147263 (5th Cir. 2023). Decision.
A Chinese company – Beijing Meishe Network Tech.Co. (“Meishe”) – sued TikTok for infringing its copyrights and misappropriating traded secrets associated with AV editing software. Although both companies are Chinese in origin, the plaintiffs sued in Judge Albright’s Waco Texas courtroom. Judge Albright is seen as tech-plaintiff friendly and so likely was the key driver for the filing location. Still, TikTok has numerous employees within the district, including 300 in the Waco area. Further, most of the actions associated with the underlying claims took place in China — and so the plaintiffs argued that there was no particular US court that would be clearly better. The reality though is that TikTok has most of its US employees in California.