DoD Prohibits FY17 Funds for Contractors with Restrictive Confidentiality Agreements
Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.21.16
On November 14, 2016, DoD issued a class deviation prohibiting its agencies from awarding FY17 funds to companies that require employees or subcontractors to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that restrict them from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse. As described here, there has been increased scrutiny by government agencies in recent years of the use of internal confidentiality agreements, and a FAR final rule on the subject is expected in the near future.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
