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1. Did he really go on a "tour to convince companies to bring patent cases in his court"? The only support is this link[0], which really doesn't say much. 2. I

1. Did he really go on a "tour to convince companies to bring patent cases in his court"? The only support is this link[0], which really doesn't say much. 2. It's not like he has some corrupt motive to encourage patent cases to be brought in his court (he doesn't get paid per case or anything). Patent plaintiffs just prefer a judge who has expertise in patent cases. So what? [0] https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20e059a3717.html https://wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-int...

burkaman 6y ago
It's also supported by the paper they quote from extensively, which is itself supported by hundreds of references. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3668514 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3668514
- beervirus 6y ago
  Actually no, it isn't. The only time the paper even alludes to him going on some tour, the only citation is to the same article I mentioned above. Which, like I said, doesn't really have any information about the alleged tour. The "hundreds of references" don't have anything to do with what I asked.
  - xbar 6y ago
    What's your thinking about the case count moving from 90 per year to 800 per year and now carrying most patent cases in the US? Do you suppose there is a West Texas Patent Case Mystery Spot Attractor?
    - beervirus 6y ago
      Not at all. Judge Albright was well-known and respected as a patent litigator before he became a judge. It's no mystery why patent litigants would want their cases before a judge who understands patent law. It's like the Court of Chancery in Delaware being the place where a lot of corporate governance issues get litigated. It's not because of bribery, it's because that's where the expertise is.
      - staticman2 6y ago
        Presumably it would be more accurate to say he's known to be biased towards plaintiffs and plaintiffs are the ones who choose where to sue. And obviously someone known to be biased towards plaintiffs is not the sort of person that should be well respected among the general population.
        beervirus 6y ago
        I’ma patent attorney. I’ve never heard that he’s biased, only that he’s competent.
        staticman2 6y ago
        Plaintiff attorneys don't want a competent judge, they simply want to win. An incompetent judge is fine if the incompetence is to their benefit. What I wrote earlier, that plaintiffs choose which district to sue under, so they pick the district that they feel will have the strongest likelihood of ruling in their favor-- should not be controversial. This is Law school 101 type stuff. I believe you when you say you are a patent attorney, but I also fear you are posting misinformation here. I believe a competent law professor would talk about "plaintiff friendly" courts and what you've posted here, about "respected" judges, suggests you are an untrustworthy poster.
        beervirus 6y ago
        It’s funny that you call it law school 101 stuff, because your analysis (and tone) is indeed about what I’d expect from a 1L. Judge Albright’s record does not show him to be patent-troll-friendly, or even patentee-friendly. It shows him to be smart, knowledgeable, and principled. His is exactly the kind of court a plaintiff or a defendant should be happy to be in. Efficiency in disposing of cases cuts both ways, you know.
        staticman2 6y ago
        Your job as an attorney is to serve your client, not the truth. A law school professor would seem to have no such incentive to deceive people- so I would not trust a word you've written here over the linked paper by the law professors.
  - burkaman 6y ago
    I'm sorry but that isn't true. > Immediately upon his appointment as a district judge in 2018, Judge Albright went on a media blitz, letting everyone know that his court would welcome patent litigation.[149] The Waco Tribune-Herald reported that Judge Albright “let it be known in no uncertain terms that he would like his Waco courtroom to become a hub for IP cases.”[150] He attended dinners for patent litigators and patent owners to extoll the virtues of trying patent cases in Waco.[151] Judge Albright stated that he took the position in Waco because he “‘thought it was the perfect place to try and establish a serious venue for sophisticated patent litigation.’”[152] Most tellingly, he gave a presentation at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Intellectual Property Law Association titled, “Why You should File Your Next Patent Case Across the Street from the ‘Hey Sugar,’” referring to a candy store near his Waco courthouse.[153] [149] Waco’s New Judge Primes District for Patent Growth, LAW360 (Feb. 12, 2019) https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1128078/waco-s-new-judge-primes-district-for-patent-growth https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1128078/waco-s-new-judge-.... [150] See generally Tommy Witherspoon, Waco Becoming Hotbed for Intellectual Property Cases with New Federal Judge, WACO HERALD-TRIBUNE (Jan. 18, 2020), https://www.wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20e059a3717.html https://www.wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for.... [151] See Scott Graham, Skilled in the Art: How Far Can Judges Go in Touting Their Districts?, LAW.COM(Sep. 3, 2019), https://www.law.com/2019/09/03/skilled-in-the-art-viasat-demands-9m-in-fees-and-2-in-punitives-how-far-can-judges-go-in-touting-their-districts https://www.law.com/2019/09/03/skilled-in-the-art-viasat-dem... (describing a dinner hosted by Ocean Tomo (a patent evaluation company) and featuring Judge Albright in which the judge “spread the word far and wide about how his Waco court would be a great place to try IP cases”). [152] Id. [153] See Britain Eakin, New West Texas Judge Wants His Patent Suits Fast and Clean, LAW360 (Oct. 25, 2019), https://www.law360.com/articles/1213867/new-west-texas-judge-wants-his-patent-suits-fast-and-clean https://www.law360.com/articles/1213867/new-west-texas-judge....
topspin 6y ago
> (he doesn't get paid per case or anything). Contemporary corruption isn't that simple minded. The patent trolls and other litigants involved in these cases employ the sons and daughters and son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws and extended family members and friends of the congress persons that fund courts. They do this through $500k/year nonprofit chairpersonships and choice positions in wealthy corporations and other institutions, and nifty positions on the rowing team so Johnny gets into Harvard. The judge gets a well funded court with lots of clerks and other staff the Judge gets to pick, and a docket full of cases with billions of dollars at stake. So the judge gets courted by the most wealthy and influential people in the world. People that eat most of their dinners with the circle of lawyers that work for Apple and Google and Disney and all the mysterious hedge funds tend to live in multiple enormous houses and have burgeoning bank accounts.
- xbar 6y ago
  Former patent goon drives billions of dollars in patent goon business to his door. This is a sex-toy-patent lawyer who got nominated as a West-Texas-oil-country Federal judge and who is advertising to patent troll holding companies to sue the wealthiest companies in America in his court and then so thoroughly denies motions to move the cases to more reasonable courts that he pre-emptively tries to deny any further motions to move such cases because he wants to keep all the cases in his jurisdiction. For reasons. Nothing suspect about this at all.
  - vonmoltke 6y ago
    > a West-Texas-oil-country Federal judge Not that it's really relevant to the story, but "West-Texas-oil-country" is actually in the Northern District of Texas, based in Dallas. The "Western" District is mostly central Texas, then extending west along the US-Mexico border.

burkaman 6y ago

It's also supported by the paper they quote from extensively, which is itself supported by hundreds of references. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3668514 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3668514

beervirus 6y ago
Actually no, it isn't. The only time the paper even alludes to him going on some tour, the only citation is to the same article I mentioned above. Which, like I said, doesn't really have any information about the alleged tour. The "hundreds of references" don't have anything to do with what I asked.
- xbar 6y ago
  What's your thinking about the case count moving from 90 per year to 800 per year and now carrying most patent cases in the US? Do you suppose there is a West Texas Patent Case Mystery Spot Attractor?
  - beervirus 6y ago
    Not at all. Judge Albright was well-known and respected as a patent litigator before he became a judge. It's no mystery why patent litigants would want their cases before a judge who understands patent law. It's like the Court of Chancery in Delaware being the place where a lot of corporate governance issues get litigated. It's not because of bribery, it's because that's where the expertise is.
    - staticman2 6y ago
      Presumably it would be more accurate to say he's known to be biased towards plaintiffs and plaintiffs are the ones who choose where to sue. And obviously someone known to be biased towards plaintiffs is not the sort of person that should be well respected among the general population.
      - beervirus 6y ago
        I’ma patent attorney. I’ve never heard that he’s biased, only that he’s competent.
        staticman2 6y ago
        Plaintiff attorneys don't want a competent judge, they simply want to win. An incompetent judge is fine if the incompetence is to their benefit. What I wrote earlier, that plaintiffs choose which district to sue under, so they pick the district that they feel will have the strongest likelihood of ruling in their favor-- should not be controversial. This is Law school 101 type stuff. I believe you when you say you are a patent attorney, but I also fear you are posting misinformation here. I believe a competent law professor would talk about "plaintiff friendly" courts and what you've posted here, about "respected" judges, suggests you are an untrustworthy poster.
        beervirus 6y ago
        It’s funny that you call it law school 101 stuff, because your analysis (and tone) is indeed about what I’d expect from a 1L. Judge Albright’s record does not show him to be patent-troll-friendly, or even patentee-friendly. It shows him to be smart, knowledgeable, and principled. His is exactly the kind of court a plaintiff or a defendant should be happy to be in. Efficiency in disposing of cases cuts both ways, you know.
        staticman2 6y ago
        Your job as an attorney is to serve your client, not the truth. A law school professor would seem to have no such incentive to deceive people- so I would not trust a word you've written here over the linked paper by the law professors.
- burkaman 6y ago
  I'm sorry but that isn't true. > Immediately upon his appointment as a district judge in 2018, Judge Albright went on a media blitz, letting everyone know that his court would welcome patent litigation.[149] The Waco Tribune-Herald reported that Judge Albright “let it be known in no uncertain terms that he would like his Waco courtroom to become a hub for IP cases.”[150] He attended dinners for patent litigators and patent owners to extoll the virtues of trying patent cases in Waco.[151] Judge Albright stated that he took the position in Waco because he “‘thought it was the perfect place to try and establish a serious venue for sophisticated patent litigation.’”[152] Most tellingly, he gave a presentation at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Intellectual Property Law Association titled, “Why You should File Your Next Patent Case Across the Street from the ‘Hey Sugar,’” referring to a candy store near his Waco courthouse.[153] [149] Waco’s New Judge Primes District for Patent Growth, LAW360 (Feb. 12, 2019) https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1128078/waco-s-new-judge-primes-district-for-patent-growth https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1128078/waco-s-new-judge-.... [150] See generally Tommy Witherspoon, Waco Becoming Hotbed for Intellectual Property Cases with New Federal Judge, WACO HERALD-TRIBUNE (Jan. 18, 2020), https://www.wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for-intellectual-property-cases-with-new-federal-judge/article_0bcd75b0-07c5-5e70-b371-b20e059a3717.html https://www.wacotrib.com/news/local/waco-becoming-hotbed-for.... [151] See Scott Graham, Skilled in the Art: How Far Can Judges Go in Touting Their Districts?, LAW.COM(Sep. 3, 2019), https://www.law.com/2019/09/03/skilled-in-the-art-viasat-demands-9m-in-fees-and-2-in-punitives-how-far-can-judges-go-in-touting-their-districts https://www.law.com/2019/09/03/skilled-in-the-art-viasat-dem... (describing a dinner hosted by Ocean Tomo (a patent evaluation company) and featuring Judge Albright in which the judge “spread the word far and wide about how his Waco court would be a great place to try IP cases”). [152] Id. [153] See Britain Eakin, New West Texas Judge Wants His Patent Suits Fast and Clean, LAW360 (Oct. 25, 2019), https://www.law360.com/articles/1213867/new-west-texas-judge-wants-his-patent-suits-fast-and-clean https://www.law360.com/articles/1213867/new-west-texas-judge....

topspin 6y ago

> (he doesn't get paid per case or anything). Contemporary corruption isn't that simple minded. The patent trolls and other litigants involved in these cases employ the sons and daughters and son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws and extended family members and friends of the congress persons that fund courts. They do this through $500k/year nonprofit chairpersonships and choice positions in wealthy corporations and other institutions, and nifty positions on the rowing team so Johnny gets into Harvard. The judge gets a well funded court with lots of clerks and other staff the Judge gets to pick, and a docket full of cases with billions of dollars at stake. So the judge gets courted by the most wealthy and influential people in the world. People that eat most of their dinners with the circle of lawyers that work for Apple and Google and Disney and all the mysterious hedge funds tend to live in multiple enormous houses and have burgeoning bank accounts.

xbar 6y ago
Former patent goon drives billions of dollars in patent goon business to his door. This is a sex-toy-patent lawyer who got nominated as a West-Texas-oil-country Federal judge and who is advertising to patent troll holding companies to sue the wealthiest companies in America in his court and then so thoroughly denies motions to move the cases to more reasonable courts that he pre-emptively tries to deny any further motions to move such cases because he wants to keep all the cases in his jurisdiction. For reasons. Nothing suspect about this at all.
- vonmoltke 6y ago
  > a West-Texas-oil-country Federal judge Not that it's really relevant to the story, but "West-Texas-oil-country" is actually in the Northern District of Texas, based in Dallas. The "Western" District is mostly central Texas, then extending west along the US-Mexico border.