Judge Barker (E.D. Tex.) Disassembles Two SAD Scheme Cases

Judge J. Campbell Barker (E.D. Tex.) issued two rulings involving SAD Scheme patent cases last week. The cases are: Shangyou Jiayi Lighting Product Co., Ltd. v. Schedule A Defendants, 2026 WL 2948520 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 30, 2026) and Haiying Liu v. Schedule A Defendants, 2026 WL 2948569 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 30, 2026) As per the new norm, these cases appear to be Chinese companies suing their Chinese competitors in US court. Another example of how rapidly the Chinese learn from U.S. (judicial) “innovations.” Judge Barker issued two very similar opinions. Neither went well for the plaintiffs. Many of his points fundamentally reject standard SAD Scheme arguments that are prevalent in many other cases. Given their extensive overlap, I’ll cover the Shangyou Jiayi Lighting case first and then discuss some differences in the Liu opinion. Shangyou Jiayi Lighting Judge Barker starts with an obvious yet often undervalued point: “Schedule A cases can have an uncertain fit with the Federal Rules of…