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DFARS Deviation Removes “Technical Interchange” Requirement for IR&D Cost Allowability

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.25.17

On September 14, 2017, the Department of Defense issued a Class Deviation waiving the requirement for “major contractors” to “engage in” and “document” a “technical interchange” with DoD as a prerequisite to making costs for IR&D projects allowable (previously discussed here and here). This deviation is “effective until it is incorporated in the DFARS” or otherwise rescinded. While it is certainly good news for contractors, it does not impact the portion of the rule requiring contractors to report at least annually IR&D projects to DTIC as a condition of allowability

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25

Design Patent Application Drawings & Prosecution History Must Be Clear (Merely Translucent Won’t Suffice!)

Design patents offer protection for the ornamental appearance of a product, focusing on aspects like its shape and surface decoration, as opposed to the functional aspects protected by utility patents. The scope of a design patent is defined by the drawings and any descriptive language within the patent itself. Recent decisions by the Federal Circuit emphasize the need for clarity in the prosecution history of a design patent in order to preserve desired scope to preserve intentional narrowing (and to avoid unintentional sacrifice of desired claim scope)....