903.03    Place Of Civil Action

Trademark Act § 21(b)(4), 15 U.S.C. § 1071(b)(4)  Where there is an adverse party, such suit may be instituted against the party in interest as shown by the records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office at the time of the decision complained of, but any party in interest may become a party to the action. If there are adverse parties residing in a plurality of districts not embraced within the same State, or an adverse party residing in a foreign country, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia shall have jurisdiction and may issue summons against the adverse parties directed to the marshal of any district in which any adverse party resides. Summons against adverse parties residing in foreign countries may be served by publication or otherwise as the court directs.

Generally, a civil action under Trademark Act § 21(b), 15 U.S.C. § 1071(b), may be brought in any Federal district court which has jurisdiction over the person. However, if there are adverse parties residing in a plurality of districts not embraced within the same state, or an adverse party residing in a foreign country, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has jurisdiction. [ Note 1.]

In ex parte cases, for purposes of venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e), the USPTO resides in the Eastern District of Virginia. [ Note 2.]

NOTES:

 1.   Trademark Act § 21(b)(4), 15 U.S.C. § 1071(b)(4). See, e.g., Pro-Football Inc. v. Harjo, 284 F. Supp. 2d 96, 68 USPQ2d 1225, 1228 (D.D.C. 2003) (U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia has jurisdiction where defendants reside in plurality of districts not within the same state), aff’d, 565 F.3d 880, 90 USPQ2d 1593 (D.C. Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 631 (2009); Del-Viking Productions Inc. v. Estate of Johnson, 31 USPQ2d 1063, 1064 (W.D. Pa. 1994) (civil action improperly brought in Pennsylvania was transferred to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in view of existence of multiple adverse parties residing in different states). Please Note: At the time these cases were decided, 15 U.S.C. § 1071(b)(4)  expressly provided for jurisdiction in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The statute was subsequently amended to provide jurisdiction in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Compare regarding application of "first to file" rule, Alltrade Inc. v. Uniweld Products Inc., 946 F.2d 622, 20 USPQ2d 1698, 1703 (9th Cir. 1991) (district court erred in dismissing rather than staying second-filed suit); and, regarding the transfer of an action to a different forum, Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli Aktiengesellschaft v. Rykoff-Sexton Inc., 24 USPQ2d 1236, 1238 (S.D.N.Y. 1992) (civil action filed in New York transferred to California where defendant’s witnesses and relevant documents and records were located).

 2.   See 35 U.S.C. § 1(b)  ("The United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be deemed, for purposes of venue in civil actions, to be a resident of the district in which its principal office is located, except where jurisdiction is otherwise provided by law."). The USPTO’s headquarters are located in Alexandria, Virginia, which is in the Eastern District of Virginia.