Insights

Washington – June 10, 2026: Crowell & Moring has been recommended in eight practice areas in the 19th edition of the Legal 500 United States. In addition, partner Daniel Forman, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts Group, has been named to the Legal 500’s “Hall of Fame” for Government Contracts, and partner David (Dj) Wolff, co-chair of the firm’s International Trade Group, has been named a “Leading Partner” in International Trade and National Security.

Washington – June 4, 2026: Crowell & Moring earned 92 individual rankings for 81 attorneys, as well as 48 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2026 guide. The Chambers guide ranks the country’s top law firms and lawyers through in-depth research, client interviews, and feedback from attorneys at peer firms. 

Chicago – February 3, 2026: World Trademark Review has once again recognized Crowell & Moring as a top trademark firm in its 2026 guide. Crowell received the highest ranking—gold—in Illinois for enforcement and litigation, and prosecution and strategy. The firm also achieved “Recommended” status in the International category and silver in the U.S. National and Belgium categories, and earned recognition as a top firm in California. Crowell is one of only three firms in Illinois to earn a gold ranking both for litigation and prosecution. 

If a court finds that a patent applicant intentionally misrepresented or withheld material information from the USPTO with the intent to deceive, the consequences are severe, leading to unenforceability of the entire patent (and likely any later patents claiming priority to the unenforceable patent).

A Kansas federal court held that inconsistent enforcement of trade secret rights can defeat a claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). In Edelman Financial Engines, LLC v. Mariner Wealth Advisors LLC, No. 2:23-cv-02515-HLT (D. Kan. June 5, 2026), the court applied a selective enforcement theory, holding that when a company does not consistently pursue legal remedies against similarly situated former employees, that inconsistency can be affirmative evidence that it failed to protect its trade secrets. While the selective enforcement theory has appeared in academic hypothetical discussions, the decision appears to be one of the clearest judicial applications of a “selective enforcement” theory in a trade secret case.

The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) is having a big year. While the U.S. Supreme Court’s affirmance of the CIT tariff ruling may be at the top of the headlines, the CIT is also making its mark on Hatch-Waxman pharmaceutical litigation. In late April 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (DNJ) reassigned numerous Hatch-Waxman patent infringement cases involving 10 different drugs to Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves of the CIT, sitting by designation in the District of New Jersey. The cases currently assigned to Judge Choe-Groves relate to several different drug products, including LYNPARZA® (olaparib), RADICAVA ORS® (edaravone), NEXLETOL®/NEXLIZET® (bempedoic acid), ZEJULA® (niraparib), QULIPTA® (atogepant), UBRELVY® (ubrogepant), CREXONT® (carbidopa and levodopa), EVRYSDI® (risdiplam), SUFLAVE® (polyethylene glycol 3350, sodium sulfate, potassium chloride, magnesium sulfate, and sodium chloride for oral solution), and CAPLYTA® (lumateperone).

Intellectual property has been in the spotlight this past year, from a landmark Copyright Fair Use case in the U.S. Supreme Court, to the more than 100 AI-related lawsuits working their way through the legal system. Despite the publicity surrounding intellectual property, patent litigation filings were down roughly 25 percent in 2023, due in part to a large decline in IP Edge filings, which normally account for hundreds of cases each year. The number of new trademark cases stayed about the same while copyright filings increased slightly.

Fordham Law School's Intellectual Property Affinity Group will host this panel highlighting women in intellectual property. Counsel Preetha Chakrabarti will participate as a panelist.

In Collaboration with the IBJ/IJE Intellectual property and information technology law has a broad scope and raises numerous concerns for company lawyers. Furthermore, the question often arises whether traditional concepts can still be applied in a digital environment. Our Technology & IP team will address some of the questions raised in the day-to-day practice, such as:

Counterstrategies at the U.S. ITC & Beyond Combine the COVID-19 pandemic with the already exponential rise in e-commerce, and what do you get? Innovation? Sure. Imitation? Absolutely. With it harder than ever to touch and experience products before purchase during the pandemic, 2021 is poised to be the "Year of the Knockoff."

Instituting and maintaining a trade secret protection policy is a challenge. If no policy is yet in place, it may be difficult to decide where to begin. For an existing policy, ensuring the policy’s efficacy and adequacy under the law is time-consuming. Regardless of your situation, the solution is to take purposeful and informed action to improve the protection of your highest priority trade secrets.