Why Intellectual Property Cases in the Northern District of Illinois? I expect that many people will ask that question. The answer is simple. The N.D. Ill. is and consistently has been one of the four or five most active patent courts in the country. See, e.g. Kimberly A. Moore, Forum Shopping In Patent Cases: Does Geographic Choice Affect Innovation?, 79 N.C. L. Rev. 889, 903 (2001); Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics, Tables C-2 & C-3.
This remains true even as “new” courts, for example the E.D. Texas, have come into vogue with intellectual property owners. And experience tells me that your assigned judge in any district will likely work hard to get the law right and understand the technology. But experience also tells me that the judges of the N.D. Ill. are uniformly good judges who are experienced with all forms of intellectual property cases and are not afraid of technology.
I plan to build this blog into a premier resource for attorneys and litigants who either routinely practice in the N.D. Ill. or find themselves in the District for the first time. I also plan for this to be an organic discussion. I will facilitate that discussion by posting about: each intellectual property case handed down by the N.D. Ill.; developments at the N.D. Ill. such as rule changes; and practice tips, some specific to the N.D. Ill. and some more general. I encourage you to ask questions and to debate.
Finally, I will not blog about decisions in cases that I am involved in. For those cases, I will seek out guest bloggers.