Katten Litigation Partner Ted Huffman was featured in a Law360 article examining the Texas Business Court's emerging role in intellectual property disputes, including trade secret, patent ownership and licensing matters.
Ted commented on the likely influence of a recent ruling across the various Texas Business Court divisions: "A lot of the business courts are issuing decisions and following what the other folks are doing. This particular court setting forth that potential standard of 'no more than a tangential relationship' is probably something other business courts are going to look at when they have future cases involving intellectual property, whether it's patents or trademarks or copyrights."
Ted also discussed how patent ownership disputes, particularly those involving contractual assignments between inventors and employers, could fall within the business court's jurisdiction. "Some of that could get wrapped up into a [traditional] patent-central case," he said. “But when you're talking about really that contractual aspect, I think that's one that could fall in the business court jurisdiction."
Additionally, Ted highlighted the business court's requirement that judges issue written opinions, noting: "You're going to get the full build-out of why your case was decided a certain way, which I think is important for a lot of folks in these complex matters."
"Texas Biz Court's Likely Role In Patent Fights Becoming Clear," Law360, March 18, 2026
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