1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |New Rule Broadens Definition of Human Trafficking and Implements Compliance Obligations

New Rule Broadens Definition of Human Trafficking and Implements Compliance Obligations

Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.30.15

On January 29, 2015, the FAR Council issued a final rule amending the FAR to reiterate the current, zero-tolerance policy for trafficking in persons, expanding the definition of human trafficking and imposing new obligations on contractors. Please visit our blog here and here for our analysis of the new rule, which includes numerous requirements applicable to all contractors and requires that, for contracts with any portion having an estimated value of over $500,000 for supplies (other than commercially available, off-the-shelf items) acquired, or services performed, overseas, contractors must develop and maintain compliance plans (including procedures for monitoring subcontractors and agents and preventing them from engaging in human trafficking) and certify compliance with the rule.

Contacts

Insights

Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25

Defining Claim Terms by Implication: Lexicography Lessons from Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation

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....