Sole-Source Protest Win Nets Only Protest Costs
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.08.05
In Europe Displays, Inc. (Dec. 5, 2005, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/297099.pdf), GAO sustained a protest challenging a sole-source award under Simplified Acquisition Procedures because the agency’s justification was not objectively reasonable based on the information reasonably available to the agency, regardless of whether the agency had acted in good faith. However, because the contract had been fully performed by the time of the GAO decision, GAO awarded the protester only its protest costs, reasoning that the cost of responding to a FedBizOpps announcement of a proposed sole-source award, including preparation of a capability statement, is not a “proposal” cost for which GAO can recommend reimbursement.
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
