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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.

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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)....