Out-of-Scope Investigation Should Not Prevent Access
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.22.16
On December 7, 2016, the Director for Defense Intelligence issued a memorandum that DoD components should not deny individuals with current eligibility in the Joint Personnel Adjudication System access to classified material based on an out-of-scope investigation, unless derogatory information calls into question the individual’s continued eligibility for access. The memorandum states that personnel security clearances do not expire, but that DoD components have been denying cleared contractor employees access to defense facilities and classified information because delays in processing background investigations have resulted in many periodic reinvestigations being overdue.
Insights
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
