Correll v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia grants a motion to transfer Kevin P. Correll’s challenge to his USPTO disciplinary suspension to the Eastern District of Virginia under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The court concludes that the Eastern District of Virginia is a proper transferee forum and that the relevant private- and public-interest factors favor transfer or are neutral. The court does not decide whether venue in the District of Columbia was otherwise proper or whether the Eastern District of Virginia is the exclusive venue.

Holdings

1. The Eastern District of Virginia satisfied § 1404(a)'s threshold requirement because the USPTO is deemed to reside in the district where its principal office is located, and the USPTO's headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia.
2. Transfer to the Eastern District of Virginia was warranted because the plaintiff's claims had only a limited connection to the District of Columbia, stronger connections to Virginia and Rhode Island, and no factor meaningfully weighed against transfer.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the action should be transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
2. Whether the Eastern District of Virginia was a district in which the action might have been brought.
3. Whether the private- and public-interest factors favored transfer from the District of Columbia to the Eastern District of Virginia.
4. Whether venue in the District of Columbia was improper under Rule 12(b)(3) or whether 35 U.S.C. § 32 made the Eastern District of Virginia the exclusive venue for the challenge.

Disposition

other