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"Collective Knowledge" Rejected

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.07.10

In U.S. v. Science Applications Int'l Corp., the D.C. Circuit concluded that the government cannot use "collective knowledge" jury instructions to prove that a corporation violated the False Claims Act because it would allow FCA liability without the level of knowledge required by the statute – i.e., that the corporation's employees acted in deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of its claims. A collective knowledge instruction improperly allows the government "to prove scienter by piecing together scraps of innocent knowledge held by various corporate officials."

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Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25

Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art

On 4 December 2025, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a landmark judgment in the joined cases C-580/23 (Mio v. Asplund) and C-795/23 (USM v. Konektra) concerning copyright protection for “works of applied art” (i.e., utilitarian objects such as tables, furniture, lighting fixtures, sofas, chairs, kitchen appliances, vases, and fashion items)....