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October 2, 2025
The Texas Business Court is a statewide, specialized trial court, which became effective in September 2024, to resolve certain complex business disputes. The Business Court’s judges are appointed by the Governor for a two-year term based on their business law experience.
On the one-year anniversary of the Business Court’s effective date, Texas expanded the Court’s jurisdiction to include trade secret disputes and other intellectual property cases where the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million (previously, the threshold was $10 million). See 2025 Tex. HB 40. Parties may aggregate all claims to meet the $5 million threshold.
Subject to certain federal exclusions – such as patent and copyright infringement cases, where federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction – the Business Court can hear: (1) cases arising out of a “qualified transaction,” defined as any single transaction or a “series of related transactions” with consideration valued at or above $5 million; (2) actions arising out of a “business, commercial, or investment contract or transaction” (but not an insurance contract), if the parties agree to the jurisdiction of the Business Court; (3) claims involving an organization’s or its governing personnel’s alleged violations of the Texas Finance Code or Business & Commerce Code by an organization; and (4) certain matters relating to intellectual property rights or trade secrets disputes.
The expanded jurisdiction provides a limited opportunity to transfer existing cases from district courts to the Business Court, even if those cases were filed before the Business Court’s creation.
The Court’s jurisdiction now also extends to enforcing arbitration agreements and reviewing arbitration awards in cases that fall under its jurisdiction.
Employer Takeaways: If you are a business involved in trade secret or intellectual property disputes of high value in Texas, consider whether the Business Court’s specialized judges and streamlined procedures could benefit your case.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Texas, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issue.
