USA – CALIFORNIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Michelle E. Armond, Douglas R. Wilson, Monica M. Arnold and Amy Han, Armond Wilson LLP
Armond Wilson LLP 100 Bayview Cir Suite 300 Newport Beach, CA 92660 USA Tel: 949 386 1341 Email: info@armondwilson.com Web: armondwilson.com
Ten Things to Know About California Intellectual Property Law in 2026 California has witnessed a watershed in intellectual property law and policy over the last two years. A new administration taking office in Washington, DC in 2025 ushered in a different patent policy focus, moving away from Patent Office litigation and giving a boost to patent owners. The following discusses some of the latest trends in intellectual property impacting California. California’s busy federal courts have a strong repu- tation for their expertise in patent and intellectual property law and are consistently among the top ten patent courts in the USA by patent filing data. What is less discussed are California courts’ strong efforts at gatekeeping patent cases. Each of the Northern District, Central District and Southern District of Cali- fornia federal courts grants motions to dismiss and for summary judgment in patent cases at well above the national averages. These trends, as well as how recent patent policy shifts over the past two years are impacting Califor- nia, are discussed below. The next two years promise even more surprises ahead. California’s popular patent courts For more than two decades, US patent cases have tended to cluster in California and a handful of other federal district courts. Given California’s leadership in innovation and dynamic USD4 trillion economy, it is no surprise that California’s federal courts, including its Northern, Central and Southern Districts, are consist- ently ranked among the top patent courts.
In 2025, more than 70% of US patent cases were filed in the following courts, listed in order of increasing popularity: • Southern District of California encompassing San Diego and neighbouring Imperial County; • Northern District of California encompassing San Francisco and Silicon Valley; • Central District of California covering Los Angeles and its neighbouring counties; • District of New Jersey; • Northern District of Illinois including Chicago and its environs; • District of Delaware; • Western District of Texas from El Paso to Austin; and • Eastern District of Texas spanning counties east of Dallas and Houston. According to case analytics data from DocketNaviga- tor®, case filings increased or held relatively steady from 2024 to 2025 across all of these popular patent courts. This is also true in California’s federal courts: • Southern District of California: 26 new case filings in 2025 compared to 24 in 2024; • Northern District of California: 106 new case filings in 2025 compared to 115 in 2024; • Central District of California: 192 new case filings in 2025 compared to 204 in 2024; • District of New Jersey: 220 new case filings in 2025 compared to 230 in 2024; • Northern District of Illinois: 412 new case filings in 2025 compared to 428 in 2024; • District of Delaware: 526 new case filings in 2025 compared to 394 in 2024;
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