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Hill Wants to Extend Whistleblower Protections

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 07.29.16

In a rare display of unity, a bipartisan group of legislators want to make permanent the pilot program extending federal whistleblower protections to subcontractors and to require modification of existing contracts to include them. This is the latest step in a years-long, rising tide of whistleblower protections, causing prudent contractors to double down on culture, communication, and redrafted codes of ethics.

Insights

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)....