Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Distinctive Development Ltd.

964 F. Supp. 2d 638, 2013 WL 4081076, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115752
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 5, 2013
DocketCASE NO. 6:12-CV-462-LED
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 964 F. Supp. 2d 638 (Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Distinctive Development Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Distinctive Development Ltd., 964 F. Supp. 2d 638, 2013 WL 4081076, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115752 (E.D. Tex. 2013).

Opinion

(Lead Consolidated Case) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LEONARD DAVIS, United States District Judge.

Before the Court are the following seven motions to transfer venue to the Northern District of California (“N.D. of California”): Defendant Distinctive Development Ltd.’s Motion to Transfer Venue (6:12-CV-462, Dkt. No. 19); Defendant Electronic .Arts Inc.’s Motion to Transfer Venue to the N.D. of California (6:12-CV-463, Dkt No. 18); Defendant Gameloft S.A.’s Motion to Transfer Venue (6:12-CV-466, Dkt. No. 18); Defendant Halfbrick Studios Pty Ltd.’s Motion to Transfer Venue (6:12-CV-467, Dkt. No. 17); Defendant Laminar Research, LLC’s Motion to Transfer Venue (6:12-CV-468, Dkt. No. 18); Defendant Mojang A.B.’s Motion to Transfer Venue (6:12-CV-470, Dkt. No. 19); and Defendant Square Enix, Inc.’s Motion to Transfer Venue (6:12-CV-472, Dkt. No. 18). For the reasons set forth below, the motions are DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (collectively “Uniloc”) filed ten different lawsuits alleging that each individual Defendant infringes U.S Patent No. 6,847,067 by “making, using, offering for sale, selling and or importing Android based applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a server to perform a license check to prevent unauthorized used of said application.” 6:12-CV-462-64, 466-72, Dkt. No. 1 at 3. Defendant Electronic Arts> Inc. (“EA”) seeks transfer to the N.D. of California under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). 6:12-CV-463, Dkt. No. 18.. Defendants, Distinctive Development Ltd. (“Distinctive”); Gameloft S.A. (“Gameloft”); Halfbrick Studios- Pty [644]*644Ltd. (“Halfbrick”); Laminar Research LLC (“Laminar”); Mojang A.B. (“Mojang”); and Square Enix, Inc. (“Square Enix”) (collectively, “Joining Defendants”), each filed a separate motion to transfer, but join and incorporate by reference EA’s Motion to Transfer. 6:12— CV-462, Dkt. No. 19 at 1; 6:12-CV-466, Dkt. No. 18 at 1; 6:12-CV-467, Dkt. No. 17 at 1; 6:12-CV-468, Dkt. No. 18 at 1; 6:12-CV-470, Dkt. No. 19 at 1; 6:12-CV-472, Dkt. No. 18 at 1. This order addresses all seven transfer motions. However, each defendant is evaluated individually. See Consolidation Order, 6:12-CV-462, Dkt. No. 43 at 4 (“The Court will consider [motions to transfer] only as to the defendants in the originally filed (member) cases, not as to all defendants in the pretrial consolidated case.”). As there are many issues common to all defendants and the Parties incorporate by reference the arguments made in EA’s Motion to Transfer, the Court addresses the common issues in relation to EA’s motion and separately addresses issues unique to each defendant.

Defendants allege that transfer is warranted because relevant witnesses, including non-party prior-art-system owners and inventors, are located in the N.D. of California. Uniloc asserts that this District is more convenient for the majority of the witnesses and that Defendants do not meet their burden of showing that the N.D. of California is “clearly more convenient,” thus, transfer is not warranted.

APPLICABLE LAW

Defendants argue that they are entitled to transfer under ■ 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) to the N.D. of California. Section 1404(a) provides that “[f]or the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought.” The first inquiry when analyzing a case’s eligibility for 1404(a) transfer is “whether the judicial district to which transfer is sought would have been a district in which the claim could have been filed.” In re Volkswagen AG, 371 F.3d 201, 203 (5th Cir.2004) (“In re Volkswagen I ”).

Once that threshold inquiry is met, courts analyze both public and private factors relating to the convenience of parties and witnesses as well as the interests of particular venues in hearing the case. See Humble Oil & Ref. Co. v. Bell Marine Serv., Inc., 321 F.2d 53, 56 (5th Cir.1963); In re Nintendo Co., Ltd., 589 F.3d 1194, 1198 (Fed.Cir.2009); In re TS Tech USA Corp., 551 F.3d 1315, 1319 (Fed.Cir.2009). The private factors are: 1) the relative ease of access to sources of proof; 2) the availability of compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses; 3) the cost of attendance for willing witnesses; and 4) all other practical problems that make trial of a case easy, expeditious, and inexpensive. In re Volkswagen I, 371 F.3d at 203; In re Nintendo, 589 F.3d at 1198; In re TS Tech, 551 F.3d at 1319. The public factors are: 1) the administrative difficulties flowing from court congestion; 2) the local interest in having localized interests decided at home; 3) the familiarity of the forum with the law that will govern the case; and 4) the avoidance of unnecessary problems of conflict of laws or in the application of foreign law. In re Volkswagen I, 371 F.3d at 203; In re Nintendo, 589 F.3d at 1198.

The plaintiffs choice of venue is not a factor in this analysis. In re Volkswagen of Am., Inc., 545 F.3d 304, 314-15 (5th Cir.2008) (“In re Volkswagen II ”). Rather, the plaintiffs choice of venue contributes to the defendant’s burden in proving that the transferee venue is “clearly [645]*645more convenient” than the transferor venue. In re Volkswagen II, 545 F.3d at 315; In re Nintendo, 589 F.3d at 1200. Furthermore, though the private and public factors apply to most transfer cases, “they are not necessarily exhaustive or exclusive,” and no single factor is dispositive. In re Volkswagen II, 545 F.3d at 314-15.

ANALYSIS

Eligibility for Transfer

Defendant EA asserts that jurisdiction is proper in the N.D. of California because EA’s Redwood City, California headquarters lie within the N.D. of California, and EA has the requisite minimum contacts to be subject to personal jurisdiction there. Dkt. No. 18 at 2, 5. The Joining Defendants state that they are also subject to the jurisdiction of N.D.' of California because they have offered for sale and sold products there. 6:12-CV-462, Dkt. No: 19 at 2; 6:12-CV-466, Dkt. No. 18 at 2; 6:12-CV-467, Dkt. No. 17 at 2; 6:12-CV-468, Dkt. No. 18 at 2; 6:12-CV-470, Dkt. No. 19 at 2; 6:12-CV-472, Dkt. No. 18 at 2. Uniloc admits that the cases could have been brought in the N.D. of California. 6.T2-CV-463, Dkt. No. 32 at 4. Thus, the threshold inquiry is satisfied.

Public Factors

The Relative Ease of Access to Sources of Proof

Despite technological advances that certainly lighten the relative inconvenience of transporting large amounts of documents across the country, this factor is still a part of the transfer analysis. In re Volkswagen II, 545 F.3d at 316.

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Bluebook (online)
964 F. Supp. 2d 638, 2013 WL 4081076, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115752, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/uniloc-usa-inc-v-distinctive-development-ltd-txed-2013.