Supreme Court Rules on Scope of Federal Contractors' Rights in Federally Funded Inventions
Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.07.11
On June 6, 2011, the United States Supreme Court, by a 7-2 margin, held in Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., No. 09-1159, that the term "subject invention" in the Bayh-Dole Act (35 U.S.C. § 200, et seq.), the statute that allocates certain rights in federally funded "subject invention[s]," includes only inventions for which the contractor has obtained a valid assignment from the employee inventor(s), and, therefore, that a contractor (and presumably the government) cannot obtain rights to an invention under the Bayh-Dole Act absent such an assignment. In so holding, the Court stated that the Bayh-Dole Act "simply assures contractors that they may keep title to whatever it is they already have" – which serves as a reminder to federal contractors desiring title to their employees' inventions to obtain valid assignments.
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CMS Finalizes CY 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Rule: Key Implications for Plan Sponsors
On April 6, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule governing the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) programs for Contract Year (CY) 2027. The final rule is effective June 1, 2026, with most provisions applicable to coverage beginning January 1, 2027, and marketing and communications changes taking effect October 1, 2026. Beyond payment, the rule pursues a broad deregulatory agenda aligned with Executive Order 14192, reversing marketing and enrollment safeguards introduced in 2023 and easing documentation and reporting obligations, while introducing new program integrity requirements.
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