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Whistleblower Protections for Prime and Sub Employees Expanded

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.30.13

On September 30, 2013, the government amended the FAR and DFARS to enhance whistleblower protections for employees of government contractors and extend such protections to subcontractor employees. As discussed in a prior Crowell & Moring webinar, these enhanced protections, which also apply to non-defense contracts through a four-year "pilot program," broaden the scope of protected disclosures to include reporting an "abuse of authority," add new protections for internal disclosures to certain managerial employees, lower the burden of proof for demonstrating a "reprisal" against the whistleblower, and afford greater remedies such as compensatory damages and legal fees.


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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)....