SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

We suppose some sort of congratulations are in order for Leonard Davis, who recently landed a sweet job with Fish & Richardson.

Fish & Richardson is the nation's leading patent firm, currently pursuing more than 600 infringement cases.

With his background, Davis will fit right in. He's currently the chief judge of the Eastern District of Texas, the nation's leading patent litigation venue, playing host to 1,425 suits last year.

If you're looking to join a prominent patent firm, you couldn't ask for a better stepping stone than the one Davis used. As a patent judge with a hot docket, you get to meet all the big players in patent litigation – and they get to meet you and size you up and see what you've got to offer.

So, East Texas now has another distinction. In addition to being a mecca for patent trolls, we now are serving as a training and placement service for patent judges who want to transition to the private sector.

We take no joy, however, in the appeal that our community has for trolls, the attorneys who represent them, and the judges who hear their often dubious cases, because we know that what attracts them repels almost everyone else.

In fact, we're in favor of anything that will reduce the appeal East Texas has for these self-serving characters.

One promising measure is the Innovation Act, federal legislation supported by Texan John Cornyn that would reduce the incentives for filing frivolous patent infringement lawsuits. The law stands a good chance of passage now that Harry Reid is no longer Senate Majority Leader.

Last year, Reid blocked consideration of a bipartisan patent reform bill.

Cornyn lamented that Reid had “allowed the demands of one special interest group to trump a bipartisan will in Congress and the overwhelming support of innovators and job creators.”

That one special interest group can trump the will of most East Texans has to be stopped.