GAO Blasts FBI's "Second-Tier" IDIQ Solicitations
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 10.15.15
In Harris IT Servs. Corp. (Oct. 2, 2015), GAO arrested the FBI's issuance of two solicitations under existing IDIQ contracts because each solicitation called for a single, "second-tier IDIQ instrument" that would deny other, existing IDIQ holders the fair opportunity to compete for future task orders as required by FAR 16.505. GAO also found that the contemplated future task orders could potentially exceed the scope of the underlying IDIQ contracts and contained unduly restrictive specifications.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
