Where to sue and be sued in the US: some real research

Thank you, Natalie Nathon, for news of this draft article which has recently been posted on the SSRN website, Mark A. Lemley's "Where to File Your Patent Case" (April 29, 2010). This 39-page document is replete with data concerning US patent trials. Says the author, a Stanford-based professor, in his abstract:

"Patent lawyers spend a great deal of time figuring out the best districts in which to file patent cases. Based on a comprehensive study of all patent lawsuits over the past ten years, I identify the best – and worst – districts for patent owners along a variety of metrics. The answers will surprise you".

The conclusions are indeed quite gripping, even for non-Americans. Says the author:

"The results, in short, seem fairly stable across a variety of likely preferences. And they reflect received wisdom only in part. Accused infringers should be trying to litigate in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the Southern District of Ohio, or the District of Columbia, none of which are much on the radar screen of patent lawyers. Patentees should be suing in a variety of districts, including the District of Delaware, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Western District of Wisconsin. Virginia and Wisconsin aren’t much of a surprise, but patent lawyers seem to overvalue the Eastern District of Texas and undervalue the District of Delaware. ..."