With two newly designated decisions (decision-1, decision 2), it can be established that PTAB judges can deny the institution of a petition based on a parallel proceeding in a district court which will finish first. We performed analysis on the US patent litigation data to find which forum received how many litigation cases in 2020. We have also shared the top patent litigation law firm of 2020 here: Most popular patent litigation Law Firms of 2020 in the US
Top venues in the USA that received the most patent litigation suits in 2020
| Venue | Number of Cases Received |
| Western District of Texas | 856 |
| District Delaware | 758 |
| Eastern District Texas | 409 |
| Central District of California | 309 |
| Federal Circuit | 274 |
| Northern District of California | 248 |
| Northern District of Illinois | 192 |
| District of New Jersey | 156 |
| Southern District of New York | 111 |
| Northern District of Texas | 88 |
| Southern District of Texas | 74 |
| Southern District of Florida | 69 |
| Middle District of Florida | 56 |
| Eastern District of Virginia | 51 |
| Northern District of Ohio | 45 |
Western District of Texas is the new hot spot for NPE patent litigation suits. It highlights how big a factor aforementioned PTAB decisions played in 2020. Needless to say, the fast-paced courts like the District Court for the Western District of Texas (WDTX) suddenly became so popular for litigators working for technology companies and non-practicing entities (NPE).
We found that out of 856 total cases at Western District of Texas, 580 cases were filed after the May 13 decision. In fact, 70 cases amongst those 580 cases have already been terminated.
Western District of Texas is known for its speedy proceedings and is the top forum in terms of most cases concluded or terminated in 2020. This could be accessed based on the number of cases that got terminated in a year.
Top forums where most patent litigation got terminated in the US in 2020
| Venue | Number of cases Closed/Terminated |
| Western District of Texas | 174 |
| District Delaware | 136 |
| Central District of California | 66 |
| Eastern District Texas | 50 |
| District of New Jersey | 38 |
| Northern District of Illinois | 38 |
| Northern District of California | 37 |
| Eastern District of Virginia | 29 |
| Northern District of Texas | 27 |
| Southern District of Florida | 26 |
| Federal Circuit | 22 |
| Southern District of New York | 21 |
| District of Colorado | 17 |
| Southern District of Texas | 17 |
| Middle District of Florida | 16 |
Who filed most number of patent litigation suits in US district courts? Let’s find out –
Top patent litigators – Entities that filed the most number of patent litigation in US in the year 2020
| Top Plaintiffs | Count of Suits |
| WSOU Investments + Brazos Licensing and Development | 182 |
| Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. | 55 |
| JUUL Labs, Inc. | 50 |
| Symbology Innovations, LLC | 46 |
| Castlemorton Wireless, LLC | 27 |
| Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems, LLC | 25 |
| Deckers Outdoor Corporation | 23 |
| Altair Logix LLC | 20 |
| Communication Interface Technologies, LLC | 20 |
| Estech Systems, Inc. | 20 |
WSOU Investments LLC went all guns blazing in 2020. They filed the most number of litigation suits in 2020. Their preferred venues were the Western District of Texas, the District of Delaware, and the Eastern District of Virginia.
Top NPEs with most vigorous litigation campaigns in US during 2020
| Top NPEs of 2020 |
| WSOU Investments LLC |
| Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. |
| Symbology Innovations, LLC |
| Castlemorton Wireless, LLC |
| Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems, LLC |
| Altair Logix LLC |
| Communication Interface Technologies, LLC |
| Guada Technologies LLC |
| Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC |
| Akoloutheo, LLC |
Based on their preference of forums, Western District of Texas was the top choice and around 90% of litigations by top 2 NPEs i.e. WSOU and Cedar Lane Technologies were filed here.
Top NPEs which preferred the Western District of Texas as their preferred Venue
| Top NPEs at WDTX | Count of Suits |
| WSOU Investments LLC + Brazos Licensing and Development | 162 |
| Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. | 14 |
| Milestone IP LLC | 13 |
| GreatGigz Solutions, LLC | 12 |
| Virtual Immersion Technologies LLC | 12 |
Top Defendants of Patent Litigation in the US during 2020
Following are the top patent defendants in 2020 – USA.
| Top Defendants | Count of Suits |
| Samsung Electronics Co | 56 |
| Google LLC | 54 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 44 |
| Dell Inc. | 40 |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 34 |
| Apple Inc. | 33 |
| ZTE Corporation | 30 |
| LG Electronics, Inc. | 27 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 27 |
| TP-Link Technology Co., Ltd. | 21 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 19 |
| F5 Networks, Inc. | 18 |
| Motorola Mobility LLC | 18 |
| Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. | 15 |
| Salesforce.com, Inc. | 14 |