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Not So Fast: Federal Circuit Reverses CFC Decision Limiting Indemnification Rights

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 01.17.13

In Indian Harbor Insurance Co. (Jan. 11, 2013), the Federal Circuit reversed the CFC and held that letters from a state regulatory agency demanding clean-up of environmental contamination at a former military site resulting in a voluntary clean-up agreement do constitute a "claim for personal injury or property damage" under section 330 of the 1993 NDAA, which requires DoD to indemnify subsequent owners of military sites against certain such "claims." This decision is an important development for parties seeking federal indemnification in connection with state regulatory actions.


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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)....