Final FAR Rule Limits Contractors’ Use Of Employee Confidentiality Agreements
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.25.17
As of January 19, 2017, a new FAR Council Rule will prohibit federal dollars from going to companies that require employees or subcontractors to sign internal confidentiality agreements that restrict employees from reporting suspected waste, fraud, and abuse to the government; it will also require contractors to notify current employees and subcontractors that any existing confidentiality agreement inconsistent with this new Rule is no longer in effect. The Final Rule (discussed in greater detail here) was published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2017, and applies to all solicitations and contracts using fiscal year 2015 (and subsequent fiscal year) funds that do not already contain a comparable provision.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
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).
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
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DOJ Announces Major Enforcement Actions Targeting North Korean Remote IT Worker Schemes
