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E.D. Tex. P. R. 3-3 — Invalidity Contentions: the court's own rule, verbatim from UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS LOCAL RULES (as of February 9, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
Not later than 35 days after the Initial Case Management Conference with the Court, each party opposing a claim of patent infringement, shall serve on all parties its “Invalidity Contentions” which must contain the following information: (a) The identity of each item of prior art that allegedly anticipates each asserted claim or renders it obvious. Each prior art patent shall be identified by its number, country of origin, and date of issue. Each prior art publication must be identified by its title, date of publication, and where feasible, author and publisher. Prior art sales or public disclosures under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) / post-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) shall be identified by specifying the item offered for sale or publicly used or the information known, the date the offer or use took place or the information became known, and the identity of the person or entity which made the use or which made and received the offer, or the person or entity which made the information known or to whom it was made known. Prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(f) shall be identified by providing the name of the person(s) from whom and the circumstances under which the invention or any part of it was derived. Prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(g) shall be identified by providing the identities of the person(s) or entities involved in and the circumstances surrounding the making of the invention before the patent applicant(s). Prior art references under post-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) showing that the claimed invention was otherwise available to the public shall be identified by specifying the form and nature of the reference, the manner in which the reference was made public, and the date on which the reference was made public; (b) Whether each item of prior art anticipates each asserted claim or renders it obvious. If a combination of items of prior art makes a claim obvious, each such combination, and the motivation to combine such items, must be identified; (c) A chart identifying where specifically in each alleged item of prior art each element of each asserted claim is found, including for each element that such party contends is governed by 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 6, the identity of the structure(s), act(s), or material(s) in each item of prior art that performs the claimed function; and (d) Any grounds of invalidity based on indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 2 or enablement or written description under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 1 of any of the asserted claims.
Not later than 35 days after the Initial Case Management Conference with the Court, each party opposing a claim of patent infringement, shall serve on all parties its “Invalidity Contentions” which must contain the following information: (a) The identity of each item of prior art