Digitech Image Technologies, LLC v. Leica Camera AG et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT LEICA CAMERA INC.S MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE 14 AND EX PARTE APPLICATION TO EXTEND THE DATE OF ITS REPLY 29 by Judge Otis D Wright, II (lc). Modified on 12/5/2012 (lc).
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DIGITECH IMAGE TECHNOLOGIES,
LLC,
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v.
Plaintiff,
LEICA CAMERA AG and LEICA
CAMERA INC.,
Case No. SACV12-01677-ODW(MRWx)
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT
LEICA CAMERA INC.’S MOTION
TO TRANSFER VENUE [14] AND
EX PARTE APPLICATION TO
EXTEND THE DATE OF ITS
REPLY [29]
Defendants.
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I.
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INTRODUCTION
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This motion to transfer venue stems from a patent-infringement action
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involving United States Patent No. 6,128,415. (ECF No. 14.) On October 1, 2012,
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Plaintiff Digitech Image Technologies sued Defendants Leica Camera AG (“AG”) and
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Leica Camera Inc. (“Leica”) for alleged infringement of this patent.1 (ECF No. 1.)
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Leica seeks to transfer the action to the District of New Jersey under 28 U.S.C. §
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1404(a) for forum non conveniens.2 For the reasons that follow, the Court DENIES
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Leica’s motion.
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AG has not yet been served with the Summons and Complaint in this matter. (Mot. 2 n.1.)
Having considered the papers filed in support of and in opposition to this motion, the Court deems
the matter appropriate for decision without oral argument. Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; L.R. 7-15.
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II.
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FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Digitech is a California limited liability company and present assignee of the
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entire right, title, and interest in and to the ’415 patent, titled “Device Profiles for Use
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in a Digital Image Processing System.” (Compl. ¶¶ 1, 6.) Digitech’s principal place
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of business is Newport Beach, California. (Id. ¶ 1.) AG is a foreign company whose
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principal place of business is in Solms, Germany. (Mot. 3.) Leica is a Delaware
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corporation whose principal place of business is in Allendale, New Jersey. (Id.;
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Compl. ¶ 2.)
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In its Complaint, Digitech alleges that Leica and AG are directly and indirectly
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infringing the ’415 patent. (Compl. ¶¶ 9–10.) Digitech posits that the parties are
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directly infringing the ’415 patent by “making, using, selling, and/or offering to sell”
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cameras utilizing the device profile technology throughout the United States. (Id.
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¶¶ 9–10.) It also argues that Leica and AG are indirectly infringing the patent by
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(1) aiding and abetting resellers to sell or offer for sale these cameras; and (2) aiding
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and abetting customers to use these cameras. (Id. ¶ 10.)
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III.
LEGAL STANDARD
Venue in federal-question cases is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), which
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provides that venue is proper in any judicial district where any defendant resides if all
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defendants reside in the same state, or in any judicial district in which a substantial
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part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred. 28 U.S.C.
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§§ 1391(b)(1), (2). If there is no district in which the action may otherwise be
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brought, venue is proper in any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to
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personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(a)(3).
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For venue purposes, a corporation resides in any judicial district where it would
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be subject to personal jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c). In states such as California,
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which has more than one judicial district, a corporation is deemed to reside in any
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district within the state with which its contacts would be sufficient to subject it to
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personal jurisdiction if the district were a separate state. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c). Once a
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defendant has raised a timely objection to venue, the plaintiff has the burden of
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showing that venue is proper. Piedmont Label Co. v. Sun Garden Packing Co., 598
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F.2d 491, 496 (9th Cir. 1979).
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When determining proper venue, a court can look beyond the pleadings of the
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claim, and does not have to take a plaintiff’s factual allegations as true. Murphy v.
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Schneider Nat’l, Inc., 362 F.3d 1133, 1137 (9th Cir. 2003). But when the facts are
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disputed, the trial court must draw all reasonable inferences and resolve all factual
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conflicts in favor of the non-moving party. Id. at 1138.
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And finally, for a motion to transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) for forum non
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conveniens, courts have broad discretion to adjudicate “according to an individualized,
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case-by-case consideration of convenience and fairness” for the parties and the
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witnesses involved. Jones v. GNC Franchising, Inc., 211 F.3d 495, 498 (9th Cir.
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2000). Specifically, a court can consider the following factors:
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(1) the location where the relevant agreements were negotiated and
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executed, (2) the state that is most familiar with the governing law, (3)
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the plaintiff’s choice of forum, (4) the respective parties’ contacts with
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the forum, (5) the contacts relating to the plaintiff’s cause of action in
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the chosen forum, (6) the differences in the costs of litigation in the two
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forums, (7) the availability of compulsory process to compel attendance
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of unwilling non-party witnesses, . . . (8) the ease of access to sources of
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proof, . . . [(9)] the presence of a forum selection clause[,] . . . [and (10)]
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the relevant public policy of the forum state. Id. at 498–99.
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IV.
DISCUSSION
Both Leica and Digitech provide the Court with many reasons for and against
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transfer, but the Court only focuses on the most relevant reasons here. Leica contends
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following factors weigh in favor of transfer of this action to the District of New
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Jersey: the convenience of the Defendants, who are headquartered in New Jersey and
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Germany; the convenience of the witnesses, including Leica’s New Jersey employees
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and the Massachusetts-based inventors of the ’415 patent; and the ease of access to
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evidence in the form of Leica’s physical and electronic records. (Mot. 3–5.) Leica
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also argues that Digitech’s choice of forum and parallel litigation in this Court are
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insufficient to keep the present action in the Central District of California. (Id. 6–7.)
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On the other hand, Digitech opposes the transfer and asserts that Digitech’s
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choice of venue should be given deference; the convenience of the parties and the
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witnesses are neutral factors; the access to evidence is also a neutral factor; the
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differences in time to trial between the Central District of California and the District
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of New Jersey would result in a lengthier and more expensive trial for Digitech; and
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the parallel litigation in this Court weighs in favor of keeping the case here. (Opp’n
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6–17.) The Court addresses each of these issues in turn.
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A. Plaintiff’s Choice of Forum
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A plaintiff’s choice of forum should be given substantial weight, and this
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weight is reduced only if the plaintiff does not reside in that district. Williams v.
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Bowman, 157 F. Supp. 2d 1103, 1106 (N.D. Cal. 2001). Digitech is a resident of
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California with no contacts in New Jersey since its sole offices and only employees
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are in Newport Beach. (Opp’n 3, 9.) This factor thus weighs in Digitech’s favor.
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B. Convenience of Parties and Witnesses
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While a plaintiff’s choice of forum is generally accorded deference, the most
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important factor in this transfer analysis is the convenience of parties and witnesses.
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See In re Genentech, Inc., 566 F.3d 1338, 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2009). In patent cases, the
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bulk of discovery comes from the “center of gravity of the accused activity,” and the
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case should be litigated as close as possible to this center. See Amazon.com v.
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Cendant Corp., 404 F. Supp. 2d 1256, 1260 (W.D. Wash. 2005). For Leica, this
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center of gravity is New Jersey since most of its employees are located there.
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(Tomaselli Decl. ¶ 6.) AG’s center of gravity is Germany; therefore, Leica argues that
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New Jersey would be more convenient than California for any AG employees that
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may be called to testify. (Id. ¶ 10; Mot. 4.) Courts, however, have noted that it is only
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slightly more convenient for European witnesses to testify in one part of the United
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States as opposed to another. In re Genentech, 566 F.3d at 1344. Since AG will have
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to travel a great distance regardless of whether it has to appear in the District of New
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Jersey or in the Central District of California, the Court is not convinced that New
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Jersey is a more appropriate forum. Furthermore, it is clear that Leica and AG are
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larger businesses than Digitech and have the means to travel to California. (Mot. 10–
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11.) Since convenience is also influenced by the relative size of the parties’
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businesses and whether they can afford to travel, this factor weighs slightly in favor of
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Digitech. See, e.g., Hernandez v. Grabel Van Lines, 761 F. Supp. 983, 989 (E.D.N.Y.
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1991) (“Where a disparity between the parties exists, such as an individual plaintiff
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suing a large corporation, the court may also consider the relative means of the parties
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in determining whether to transfer.”).
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C. Access to Proof
Access to proof is also in favor of keeping the case in California or is, at the
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very least, neutral. All of Digitech’s documents are in Newport Beach. (Wong Decl.
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¶ 2.) While Leica’s and AG’s documents are in New Jersey and Germany,
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respectively, these can be transported to California in an electronic format. (Opp’n
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13.) Even though transporting Digitech’s documents digitally to New Jersey is also
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possible, keeping the case in the Central District of California would not tax any of the
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parties.
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D. Differences in Litigation Costs
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The median time from filing to trial in the Central District of California versus
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the District of New Jersey weighs in favor of Digitech’s home forum. In the Central
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District of California, the median time is 19.7 months, but in the District of New
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Jersey, it is 43.6 months. (Opp’n Ex. 2, 3.) Accordingly, transferring this case to
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New Jersey may result in protracted litigation that consequently burdens Digitech.
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E. Parallel Litigation
Finally, the parallel litigation pending in this Court favors the Central District of
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California over the District of New Jersey. Digitech has filed 24 patent infringement
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suits relating to the same ’415 patent in this Court, and keeping the present action here
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will save pre-trial judicial resources. This is especially true since this Court has
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already stated that all these cases may be consolidated for discovery even though they
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cannot be consolidated for trial. Digitech Image Techs., LLC v. Agfaphoto Holding
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GmbH, No. 8:12-cv-1153-ODW(MRWx), 2012 WL 4513805, at *5 n.7 (C.D. Cal.
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Oct. 1, 2012) (“The severed cases are sufficiently related that they should all be before
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the same judge for case management and judicial efficiency purposes, but they are not
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sufficiently related for joinder under 35 U.S.C. § 299.”).
V.
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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Leica’s motion. Leica’s pending
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unopposed ex parte application to extend the date of its reply is therefore DENIED
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AS MOOT.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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December 5, 2012
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____________________________________
OTIS D. WRIGHT, II
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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