Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing life science R&D (particularly in the realm of drug discovery) and challenging the traditional "human inventorship" requirement for U.S. patents. Recent guidance from the USPTO...more
4/9/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Drug Pricing ,
Earn-Outs ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Aid ,
Healthcare ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
Life Sciences ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Private Equity ,
Trump Administration ,
USPTO
During their last week in office, and over the vigorous dissent of Republican FTC commissioners, Biden administration antitrust officials unveil new guidelines intended to replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human...more
1/22/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchises ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
2024 was a significant year for merger enforcement worldwide. In the United States, the Biden administration continued the aggressive approach reflected in the revamped Merger Guidelines issued in December 2023. In Europe,...more
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") unanimously issued a final rule expanding the requirements of premerger filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements ("HSR") Act of 1976. The HSR Act requires parties to...more
10/15/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 along party lines to finalize a rule that bans noncompete clauses in employment agreements as a per se illegal “unfair method of competition” (“UMC”) under Section 5...more
DOJ, FTC, and HHS jointly announced the launching of a cross-government public inquiry into increasing private equity and corporate involvement in health care, the latest announcement in a string of public statements from the...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") launched a market study on 20 February 2024 into baby formula, the latest development in a broader focus on the food and grocery sector....more
2/27/2024
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Baby Products ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Grocery Stores ,
Manufacturers ,
Price Inflation ,
Suppliers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) have proposed to expand dramatically the scope and burden of preparing a merger filing in the United States. The proposed changes...more
7/26/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
NPRM ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements
Each year, Americans spend more than $1,500 per person on prescription drugs. Critics calling for measures to lower prescription drug costs often cast blame on alleged abuses of patent and competition laws. To address these...more
10/26/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
Biosimilars ,
Biotechnology ,
Competition ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patient Access ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USPTO
The Development: Congress unanimously passed and before leaving office, President Trump signed into law, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act ("CHIRA"). CHIRA limits application of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, an...more
A trade secret is any information used in one's business that derives independent economic value from being kept secret. Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected indefinitely for as long as they remain a secret. Due in...more
12/31/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Judgment As A Matter Of Law ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Patents ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Popular ,
Remedies ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts
In a decision that extends the FTC's winning streak in the courts of appeals in healthcare provider merger cases, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the Federal Trade Commission's ("FTC") bid to enjoin Sanford Health's acquisition...more
7/8/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Monopolization ,
Physicians ,
Rural Health Care Providers
The Situation: The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently filed a rare monopolization case, alleging that a health information technology company illegally monopolized two e-prescribing markets.
The Impact: The FTC...more
5/24/2019
/ Competition ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Monopolization ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Sherman Act
A number of Democrats in Congress have proposed to revamp U.S. antitrust law with a "Better Deal" economic plan. The proposed legislation takes aim at large corporations and includes measures that are at odds with decades of...more