Kevin P. Correll v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia considers the defendants’ motion to dismiss or transfer Kevin P. Correll’s challenge to a five-year USPTO suspension. The court declines to decide whether venue in the District of Columbia is proper but concludes that transfer to the Eastern District of Virginia is warranted under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The court directs the Clerk to transfer the case.

Holdings

1. The Eastern District of Virginia satisfied the threshold requirement of § 1404(a) because the USPTO's headquarters and principal office are in Alexandria, Virginia, and a civil action against a federal agency may be brought where the agency resides.
2. Transfer to the Eastern District of Virginia was warranted because Correll's claims had limited connections to the District of Columbia, stronger connections to the Eastern District of Virginia and Rhode Island, and no factor meaningfully weighed against transfer.
3. The court did not decide whether venue in the District of Columbia was proper or whether 35 U.S.C. § 32 made the Eastern District of Virginia the exclusive venue because transfer was appropriate even assuming venue in the District of Columbia was proper.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the action could have been brought in the Eastern District of Virginia for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
2. Whether the private- and public-interest factors under § 1404(a) favored transferring the action from the District of Columbia to the Eastern District of Virginia.
3. Whether the court needed to decide defendants' argument that venue in the District of Columbia was improper or that 35 U.S.C. § 32 made the Eastern District of Virginia the exclusive venue.

Disposition

other