Intellectual Property

Fed. Circ. Ruling Shows Novelty's Role In Patent Eligibility

The recent Federal Circuit decision Simio v. FlexSim is the latest in a trend concerning a class of inventions that are patent ineligible because they’re not novel despite purporting to improve computer technology, and is informative for winning or surviving early motions to dismiss, say Braden Katterheinrich and JD Schneider at Faegre Drinker.

4 Legal Industry Trends Litigation Financiers Are Watching

Some recent litigation developments demonstrate efforts by law firms and their clients to search for opportunities in the COVID-19 economic fallout, while others — such as the rise of contingency fee arrangements — reflect acceleration of tendencies that were already underway, says William Weisman at Therium Capital.

A Lawyer's Guide To Setting Well-Being Goals In 2021

In the face of rising client demands due to the pandemic and the changing regulatory environment, and with remote work continuing for the foreseeable future, lawyers should invest in their well-being by establishing inspiring yet realistic goals for 2021 — one month at a time, says Krista Larson at Morgan Lewis.

Federal Practice Takeaways From Spike Lee, Prince IP Ruling

The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Brandon v. NPG Records, barring copyright infringement claims already litigated in a Florida federal court in favor of Spike Lee and Prince’s estate, offers lessons on supplementary copyright registration and significant federal procedural issues, say Matthew Nelles and Adriana Kostencki at Nelles Kostencki.

Keyword Searches To Improve Your Privilege Doc Review

"Confidential" and other search terms commonly used to locate privileged documents during e-discovery are pretty ineffective, so practitioners should consider including specific types of keywords that are demonstrably better at targeting privilege, say Robert Keeling at Sidley and Rishi Chhatwal at AT&T.

The Benefits Of More Alternative Dispute Resolution At GAO

While disruption amid the pandemic undoubtedly contributed to a 210% uptick in the use of alternative dispute resolution at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in fiscal year 2020, bid protest practitioners should hope the upward trend continues given the various efficiencies it brings to the procurement process, says Noah Bleicher at Jenner & Block.

ABA Approves Remote Practice, But Questions Remain

Lawyers working remotely during the pandemic while physically outside the jurisdictions in which they are licensed will find some comfort in a recent American Bar Association opinion sanctioning such practice, but there is ambiguity regarding the contours of what's allowed, say attorneys at Harris Wiltshire.

Keys To Creating Standout Law Firm Thought Leadership

Whether geared toward a global audience or a particular client, a law firm's articles, blog posts and client alerts should strive to be original by harnessing a few editorial tools and following the right distribution sequence, say Steven Andersen and Tal Donahue at Infinite Global.

Fed. Circ. Patent Decisions In 2020: An Empirical Review

Statistical analysis of last year's Federal Circuit patent cases reveals several differences from 2019, including a shift in the docket more toward appeals from district court cases, more affirmances, more nonprecedential opinions and fewer summary dispositions, says Dan Bagatell at Perkins Coie.

Perspectives

Judges On Race: The Power Of Discretion In Criminal Justice

Judges should take into consideration the several points of law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion — from traffic stops to charging decisions and sentencing recommendations — that often lead to race-based disparate treatment before a criminal defendant even reaches the courthouse, say Judge Juan Villaseñor and Laurel Quinto at Colorado's Eighth Judicial District Court.

Trade Secrets Law 25 Years After PepsiCo Disclosure Case

Notwithstanding the expectations at the time, the Seventh Circuit's landmark 1995 decision in the PepsiCo v. Redmond trade secret case has not made the doctrine of inevitable disclosure an alternative to, or backstop for, traditional post-employment noncompetition agreements — though the doctrine continues to be applied, say Peter Steinmeyer and Brian Spang at Epstein Becker.

5 Attorney Business Development Tips For The New Year

Lawyers should remember that the basics of interpersonal relationships have not changed despite the completely virtual environment caused by the pandemic, and should leverage the new year as an excuse to connect with clients in several ways, say Megan Senese and Courtney Hudson at Pillsbury.

After Lull In Biosimilar IP Litigation, 2021 Could Bring Influx

While 2020 was an off year for U.S. biosimilars, with only 29 new regulatory approvals and 29 patent litigation matters, it does not appear to be a reflection of things to come, given a flourishing market, bursting pipelines, and clinical trial activity, say Joshua Whitehill and Jay Deshmukh at Kasowitz.

Boeing Case Boosts Contractor Ability To Guard Trade Secrets

By permitting government contractors to place proprietary legends on their data, the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Boeing v. Secretary of the Air Force will help contractors assert rights such as trade secret protections in unlimited rights data, say Jay Carey and Evan Sherwood at Covington.

Minimizing Disruption To Clients During Law Firm IT Upgrades

For law firms planning overhauls in their information technology infrastructures in light of hard lessons learned from pandemic-era transition to remote work, there are five ways to ensure even the biggest tech upgrade has minimal impact on client service, says Brad Paubel at Lexicon.