Intellectual Property

When Will The ITC Honor A PTAB Finding Of Invalidity?

As a general rule, the U.S. International Trade Commission has given little to no deference to Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions. However, recent decisions seem to throw a wrinkle into this lack of deference, say Bryan J. Vogel and Derrick J. Carman of Robins Kaplan LLP.

Opinion

BigLaw's Associate Salary Model Is A Relic Of A Bygone Era

Legal industry compensation practices are once again in the news as BigLaw firms continue to match the new high watermark of $190,000 for first-year associate salaries. The typical model of increasing associate salaries uniformly fails star associates, the firms they work for and, ultimately, the clients they serve, says William Brewer, managing partner of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors.

EU Begins Catching Up To US On Trade Secret Law

The introduction of EU-wide minimum standards for the protection of trade secrets should be welcomed by U.S. businesses for two reasons, say Robert Williams and Will Smith of Bird & Bird LLP.

Policy Is Changing For Technology Transfers

The Trump administration and Congress are tightening investment restrictions and export controls to address technology transfer concerns. These measures initially focus on China, but will have broader effects on investments in the United States and transfers of emerging technologies, say attorneys with Baker McKenzie.

#MeToo At Law Firms And What We Can Do About It

While some may say it’s ironic, it’s also embarrassing and enraging that the very industry that offers anti-harassment training, policies and counsel now finds itself the subject of #MeToo headlines. The American Bar Association recommendation that will bring about the greatest change is the call to provide alternative methods for reporting violations, says Beth Schroeder, chair of Raines Feldman LLP's labor and employment group.

How SAS Expands Scope Of Inter Partes Review Estoppel

Recent developments following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in SAS Institute make clear that inter partes review petitioners have lost the opportunity to preserve some “back pocket” invalidity arguments following an unsuccessful IPR trial, say Barbara McCurdy and Arpita Bhattacharyya of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.

Careless Employee: A Company's Biggest Trade-Secret Threat

Companies clearly believe that training programs are the most meaningful way to reduce employee carelessness when it comes to protecting corporate assets. However, as new survey results demonstrate, these training programs are not enough to combat the careless insider, says Audra Dial of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.

Knowledge Lawyers Can Help Firms Stay Ahead Of The Curve

In a profession notoriously averse to change, it should come as no surprise that there is skepticism about the value of having attorneys perform nonbillable tasks. But U.S. law firms have slowly begun to incorporate knowledge lawyers into their operations — and the trend is likely to continue, says Vanessa Pinto Villa of Hogan Lovells.

Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1 Year Later

In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California — limiting where plaintiffs can bring claims and curbing forum-shopping in mass tort litigation — courts have grappled with questions that the ruling did not address, and defendants have pursued jurisdictional defenses in class actions and federal cases that were not previously available, say attorneys with Eversheds Sutherland LLP.

Rebuttal

PTAB Policies Are Squelching Dissents

A Law360 article last week quoted former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges who believe that board policies do not stymie dissenting and concurring opinions. But the policies do force three-member panels to act in unison, says Teddy Gron, of counsel at Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt LLP and a former administrative patent judge.