Eleventh Circuit OK’s Suspension of Affiliates Beyond 18 Months
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.08.14
In Agility Def. & Gov’t Servs. v. Dep’t of Def. (Dec. 31, 2013), the Eleventh Circuit reversed the judgment below and held that when an agency suspends a contractor it may suspend affiliates of that contractor for greater than 18 months based solely on their affiliation provided legal proceedings have been initiated during that period against the contractor. The district court had held that the regulations required affiliation-based suspensions to be lifted after 18 months unless legal proceedings had been initiated against the affiliates themselves, but the Eleventh Circuit held that affiliates are afforded sufficient due process and that no independent showing of wrongdoing by an affiliate is required for suspension or debarment.
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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25
From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors
Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
Client Alert | 5 min read | 11.26.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.25.25
Brussels Court Clarifies the EU’s SPC Manufacturing Waiver Regulation Rules
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.24.25
