The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has published a Notice and Request for Comment (RFC) on the potential impact of the increasing deployment of satellite-enabled direct-to-device (D2D)...more
In recent months, NIH signaled that it, in the words of Director Monica Bertagnolli, understands the “difficult climate for our valued Asian American, Asian immigrant and Asian research colleagues who may feel targeted and...more
On October 11, 2024, in the matter of Ephriam Rodriquez v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (“SEPTA”), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the legal standards for establishing a “serious health...more
Based on a real lawsuit. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Facts may not be 100 percent accurate. PART ONE: Imagine you're the boss. You run a fast-food franchise, Flippin' Burgers. You hire Gwendolyn to...more
On Oct. 11, 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals filed a unanimous, precedential opinion affirming judgment as a matter of law in favor of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in a Family and Medical...more
Don't be this employer. (Allegedly.) Not long ago, I posted about an employer who won summary judgment in an FMLA case and noted five things that the employer did right, which helped it win. Sad to say, a decision came out...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act does not require employers to allow qualified employees to work remotely. While such requests may fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act’s reasonable accommodation obligation, the FMLA...more
How'd that happen? An employer who terminated an employee after he took intermittent FMLA leave for diabetes won its case, and recently won again on appeal. According to both courts, the employee appeared to be trying to...more
On appeal from an interference proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a Patent Trial & Appeal Board decision that found the claims of the senior party’s patent were not invalid as time-barred...more
Precedential and Key Federal Circuit Opinions - LKQ CORPORATION v. GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC [OPINION] (2021-2348, 5/21/24) Moore, Lourie, Dyk, Prost, Reyna, Taranto, Chen, Hughes, Stoll, and Stark - Stoll,...more
In a landmark decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery addressed, for the first time, the precise duties that a controlling stockholder owes, and the standard of review that will apply, when a controlling stockholder takes...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board held all challenged claims of IGT’s patent unpatentable as obvious over two prior art patents. Zynga Inc. v. IGT, IPR2022-00199-32. In doing so, the PTAB further held that, contrary to...more
A California federal court, applying California law, found that a lawsuit for intentional interference with contractual relations necessarily alleged a willful act and was therefore uninsurable under California Insurance...more
The National Labor Relations Board swung to a Democratic majority after the 2020 election of President Joe Biden. That majority has been almost continually dismantling standards established by the Republican majority Board...more
Two amici have filed briefs in support of the appeal by Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, "CVC") of the decision by the Patent Trial and...more
The decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in favor of Senior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University, and MIT (collectively, "Broad") and against Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board correctly considered evidence of multiple witnesses to be sufficient in corroborating actual reduction to practice when...more
On December 14th*, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rendered its decision on Preliminary Motions in Interference No. 106,133 between Senior Party Sigma-Aldrich and Junior Party The Broad Institute, Harvard University, and...more
A new year means new Federal Circuit decisions to analyze. Our case of the week recounts an interesting saga of companies copying each other’s patent applications to provoke an interference. And if that’s not enough to grab...more
As the dodo of patent practice, the number of interferences has been steadily dwindling since enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in 2012 abolished the practice in favor of a "first inventor to file" regime and a...more
A group of 14 Republican AGs wrote a letter to Merrick B. Garland, the U.S. Attorney General, asking what steps the DOJ is taking to protect against potential threats posed by foreign entities funding civil litigation within...more
On December 14th, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rendered its Decision on Motions in Interference No 106,132 between Senior Party Sigma-Aldrich ("Sigma") and Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the...more
Having heard oral argument at a hearing held on Monday, November 21st, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on December 14th entered its decision on motions in Interference No 106,132 between Senior Party Sigma-Aldrich ("Sigma")...more
Employers, don't be too rigid about employee notice requirements. Weird case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Imagine this: You're the HR manager at a manufacturing facility. An hourly employee has...more
On October 24th, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board scheduled back-to-back oral hearings for interferences between Sigma-Aldrich (Senior Party) and Junior Party The Regents of the University of California, University of...more