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Wait, What? Administration Now Designates “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” as Not Economically Significant

Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.10.16

In a sign that the Obama Administration may be preparing to rush the publication of the FAR Council’s final rules implementing the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” executive order so as to avoid timing problems associated with the Congressional Review Act, the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (responsible for reviewing the rules before sending them to the FAR Secretariat for publication, discussed here) now lists the new rules as not “Economically Significant.” That determination allows the administration to avoid the requirements under EO 12866 to provide a more detailed assessment of the likely benefits and costs of the regulatory action, but it reverses the administration’s prior designation of these burdensome new compliance and reporting obligations, and it seems at odds with the designation of other rules, such as “Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed at One Eating Occasion” and “Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Dehumidifiers,” as Economically Significant.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.23.24

From the Highchair to the Courtroom: Federal Circuit Serves Up Helpful Guidance on Equitable Defenses in Childproof Placemat Patent Dispute

The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Luv n’ Care v. Laurain provides a cautionary tale for patentees. Disclosing prior art to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is not enough to insulate against a finding of inequitable conduct, particularly where a patentee mischaracterizes that prior art and the PTO’s patentability determination may have differed had the patentee accurately described the prior art. Misconduct by the patentee during litigation can also lead to a finding of unclean hands that bars the patentee from relief for alleged infringement against the opposing party in that litigation....