Gatekeeper Solutions, Inc. v. Darktrace, Inc.

I. BACKGROUND

This is a patent-infringement case. Plaintiff Gatekeeper, a New York corporation, owns a patent covering “[a] system for ensuring an electronic communication being sent by a user to two or more recipients . . . is not sent to another conflicting recipient[.]” (Dkt. #1 ¶¶ 2, 12, 14) (quoting U.S. Patent No. 9,032,038). Gatekeeper alleges that Darktrace’s “[e]mail product[,] which has a feature to prevent sending of an e-mail . . . to conflicting recipients,” infringes its patent. (Dkt. #1 ¶ 15). Defendant Darktrace, a Delaware corporation, “is based in the Northern District of California at its main office located [in] . . . San Francisco, California.” (Dkt. #16 at 6). When this lawsuit was filed, Darktrace had a small office in Plano, Texas—staffed primarily by low-level salespeople—but that office has since closed. (Dkt. #16-1 ¶ 5). Since the closing of its Plano office in August 2024, Darktrace has not had a physical presence in the Eastern District of Texas. (Dkt. #16-1 ¶ 5). Relevant to its motion to transfer venue, (Dkt. #16), Darktrace presented

uncontested testimony that all of its likely witnesses in this case work out of its San…