Picking the best available venue for a suit is a part of competent lawyering, and for a variety of reasons the Eastern District of Texas has been an oft-chosen site to sue. The Federal Circuit (and Congress) have sought to narrow the ability of patentees to sue in that court, as is well known.
Thus it is of note to me that the Federal Circuit granted a petition for mandamus review and held the district court had abused its discretion in not transfering the case to Ohio. The decision, In re Toa Techns., Inc., is here.
I have no view on the actual merits, but mandamus relief is an extraordinary remedy, and venue under 1404(a) a discretionary matter, meaning the grant of a petition should be extraordinarily rare. The Federal Circuit may be broadening the mandamus doctrine to acomplish some good, but that also may have unintended consequences in other areas. If something "as discretionary" as this can be reviewed and changed on mandamus, no doubt a lot of other things can to. It may be an opportunity for lawyers to "appeal" other issues, and also affects analysis of a venue decision — it may not stick.
Some things to ponder.