312J2021
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`Texas Patent Trials Halted Due To COVID-19 Spike
`
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`Lawa6o (November 20, 2020,9:18 PM EST)- Bastern District ofTexasJudge Rodney
`Gilstrap announced Friday he's postponing all july trials UDtil March, a decision he was
`reluctant to make but felt necessary due to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases
`in Texas and the travel restrictions out-()f·state attorneys and witnesses were facing.
`
`Jud&e GillltJap's announcement comes days after clrlefjudges in the Northern and Western
`districts ofTex:as postponed aD trials scheduled through the end of the year and after the
`Southem Diat:rict of Texas postponed aD trials scheduled through Jan. 19.
`
`Judge Gilstrap said it was a difficult call to make because of the time and efi'ort court staff
`had undertaken to resume in-person trials during the pandemic. But the judge, who presides
`over one of the busiest patent dockem in the country, ultimately said he felt compelled to
`order continuanct'a in cases slated for trial
`
`'We now faoe a dangerously rising rate of increase in COVID-19 cases and swelling
`hospitalizations in this district and acros9 the oountry." Judge Gilstrap said. "Despite the
`oourt's optimism that an efficacious vaccine may become widely avaflable in the ooming
`
`RingCentral Ex-1009, p. 1
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
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`

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`31212021
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`Texas Patent Trials Halted Due To COVID-19 Spike- Law360
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`months, the court is persuaded that the current status of the public health in the Marshall
`Division of the Eastern District of Texas requires it to continue all in-person jury trials."
`
`In a footnote, Judge Gilstrap alluded to a recent COVID-19 outbreak in U.S. District Judge
`Amos L. Mazzant III's Sherman, Texas, courthouse, about 150 miles northwest of Marshall.
`That brought home the changing reality of the pandemic, he said.
`
`Judge Gilstrap entered identical orders in three patent cases that were on deck for a Dec. 4
`start date, pushing them to March 1. Although the three were set for that date, only one
`would have gone to trial. As part ofhis COVID-19 protocols, Judge Gilstrap has only tried
`one case per month since he restarted trials in August.
`
`He also had three patent cases lined up for Jan. 4, but they have now been pushed to Aprils,
`according to court records.
`
`Samsung Display Co., Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC and Cisco Systems Inc.,
`the three defendants that had been scheduled for Dec. 4, had all filed motions this week
`to delay their trials by three months. They cited the recent spike in COVID-19 cases
`nationwide and travel restrictions that require self-quarantine periods for their non-Texas
`attorneys and witnesses, the timing of which would possibly affect their ability to be with
`their families over the winter holidays.
`
`Judge Gilstrap addressed those concerns in his order.
`
`"Mindful of its docket largely populated with complex civil cases, where parties, witnesses,
`and staff often reside internationally or in domestic locations with a variety of travel
`restrictions and quarantines, the court feels compelled to find that in-person jury trials must
`be continued," he said.
`
`Samsung and Sony also referred in their continuance motions to the Sherman outbreak. In
`that case, Judge Mazzant initially postponed the trial for two weeks after learning a
`dismissed juror had tested positive for the virus, but as the case count increased to 15, he
`ultimately granted a mistrial Nov. 17, saying he'll reschedule for sometime in 2021.
`
`"Trials during COVID are safe until they quickly pivot to very dangerous, and that pivot point
`is invisible and impossible to detect until it is too late," Sony said in its motion.
`
`Solas OLED Ltd., who has accused Samsung of infringing three mobile screen display
`technology patents, was the only plaintiff who challenged the continuance motions before the
`judge issued the delay order.
`
`On Friday, Solas argued a three-month delay would "severely prejudice" it and that
`Samsung's belief that a March trial would be safer than a December one is an "incorrect
`assumption."
`
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`"Finally, this court has successfully tried numerous cases during the pandemic while
`mitigating the risk to jurors, witnesses, attorneys and court staff," Solas said. "There is no
`reason why this trial should be any different."
`
`Texas currently leads the nation in COVID-19 cases, reporting more than 1 million since the
`pandemic started. Over the last seven days alone, the state has recorded more than 64,000
`new cases, according to data from the state's Department of State Health Services. Texas has
`the second-highest total death count with more than 20,000 COVID-19 deaths. Only New
`York has more, with over 33,000 deaths.
`
`Jennifer Haltom Doan, a partner with Haltom & Doan in Texarkana, who tried a patent case
`in Judge Gilstrap's court in October, called the Sherman outbreak "really unfortunate" but
`also said courts have to find a way to proceed even during the pandemic to avoid backlogs
`and unjustly hurting parties involved in the disputes.
`
`"It doesn't change how I feel about the need to try these cases and not have the requests stack
`up and delay, or to leave prisoners in prison when they want to have their cases tried," she
`said.
`
`Since the Sherman mistrial, the clerk's office in the Eastern District's Tyler courthouse has
`closed after a court staffer tested positive for the virus, and the district's Texarkana
`courthouse, which also houses the Western District of Arkansas, has been closed until Dec. 7
`after two non-U.S. Courts employees who worked in the building tested positive for the
`coronavirus, Eastern District clerk David O'Toole said.
`
`Judges in the Eastern District, which has held 20 in-person jury trials since the start of the
`pandemic, started making calls to postpone trials and hold hearings remotely in their
`individual courthouses last week, before the Sherman mistrial was called.
`
`U.S. Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, in Texarkana, told Apple Inc. and Maxell Ltd. during a
`Nov. 12 hearing that he was continuing their patent dispute to March from its Dec. 7 trial
`setting, although the court record doesn't indicate his reasoning.
`
`Judge Schroeder has also approved virtual hearings. He's allowing post-trial hearings
`between VirnetX Inc. and Apple Inc. after a $502.8 million infringement verdict to be held
`via videoconference.
`
`Judge Mazzant, who had successfully held seven trials without reports of positive test results
`before the current outbreak, announced Nov. 17 he would postpone all trials through the end
`of the year, and the Sherman courthouse is closed out of precaution until Dec. 4.
`
`Haltom & Do an said judges in the Eastern District have worked hard to prevent an outbreak
`like Sherman's. Along with employing various safety procedures in their respective
`courthouses, the judges have maintained a policy of allowing potential jurors to opt out for
`
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`any COVID-1g-related reason.
`
`Cisco had applauded those efforts in its Nov. 19 motion to continue, but argued that the
`scales favored delaying trials.
`
`to keep
`"Cisco notes the remarkable efforts of this court - and other courts in the district -
`the courthouse doors open and continue to resolve cases, fairly balancing the need to proceed
`with cases against the ascertainable health risks at any given time," the company said. "In
`striking that balance here, Cisco respectfully suggests that the scale favors a brief
`continuance of this case."
`
`Michael Smith, partner in charge of Siebman Forrest Burg & Smith LLP's Marshall office,
`said it will be interesting to see if the demographics of jury pools change after this second
`wave ofCOVID-19 cases, as well as the Sherman outbreak. He said the district could find that
`fewer Texans are willing to participate in trials.
`
`"I believe that what a juror thought in June and in September is different," he said. Future
`juries could be "significantly more concerned than they are now."
`
`Judge Gilstrap noted in his Friday order that he will hold some motion practice via virtual
`proceedings during this postponement but that it is only fair to hold jury trials in person.
`
`"Jury trials are innately human experiences," the judge said in a footnote. "More is often
`communicated in a courtroom nonverbally than verbally ... Such factors as cadence, tone,
`inflection, delivery and facial expression are as vital to due process as is the applicable
`statute or case law."
`
`--Editing by Gemma Horowitz.
`For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@laW36o.com.
`
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`RingCentral Ex-1009, p. 4
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
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`Texas Patent Trials Halted Due To COVID-19 Spike- Law360
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`• Intellectual Property
`• Technology
`• Texas
`• Trials
`
`Case Information
`
`Case Title
`
`Solas OLED Ltd. v. Samsung Display Co., Ltd. et al
`
`Case Number
`
`2:19-cv-00152
`
`Court
`
`Texas Eastern
`
`Nature of Suit
`
`Patent
`
`Judge
`
`Rodney Gilstrap
`
`Date Filed
`
`Mayo2, 2019
`
`Case Title
`
`Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. v. Cisco Systems, Inc.
`
`Case Number
`
`2: 19-CV-00225
`
`Court
`
`Texas Eastern
`
`Nature of Suit
`
`https:llwww.law360.com/artides/1330855
`
`517
`
`RingCentral Ex-1009, p. 5
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
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`31212021
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`Texas Patent Trials Halted Due To COVID-19 Spike- Law360
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`Patent
`
`Judge
`
`Rodney Gilstrap
`
`Date Filed
`
`June 12, 2019
`
`Case Title
`
`Infernal Technology, LLC v. Sony Interactive Entertainment America, LLC
`
`Case Number
`
`2: 19-cv-00248
`
`Court
`
`Texas Eastern
`
`Nature of Suit
`
`Patent
`
`Judge
`
`Rodney Gilstrap
`
`Date Filed
`
`July 11, 2019
`
`Law Firms
`
`• Haltom & Doan
`• Siebman Forrest
`
`Companies
`
`Judge Analytics
`
`powered by Lex Machina®
`
`https:llwww.law360.com/artides/1330855
`
`617
`
`RingCentral Ex-1009, p. 6
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
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`31212021
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`Texas Patent Trials Halted Due To COVID-19 Spike- L.aw360
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`ltl James Rodney Gilstrap
`
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`RingCentral Ex-1009, p. 7
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
`
`