Expert Analysis

• The Murky World Of IP Protection For Gene-Edited Plants

  

  The recently filed Corteva v. Inari lawsuit, which accuses a plant trait developer of using a front company for commercial development, underscores the legal challenges in protecting and determining the ownership of new, genetically edited plant varieties, and emphasizes why joint development arrangements must be carefully navigated, say Andrew Zappia and Tate Tischner at Troutman Pepper.

• Opinion

  Alternative Patents Would Solve Many Inventor Woes

  

  A fundamental reform that gives inventors the option of alternative patents tailored to the value of an invention offers a potential solution for resolving patent-system problems, says John Powers of The Powers IP Law Firm.

• Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

  

  Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

• Series

  Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

• AI May Help Patent Applicants With Functional Claiming

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently set what many patent practitioners consider too high a bar for functional claims, but artificial intelligence could alter functionality analysis — conferring predictability that alleviates courts' concerns that practicing the claims requires undue experimentation, say Brian Nolan and Ying-Zi Yang at Mayer Brown.

• How Executives' Deposition Standards Can Differ

  

  The recent Trustees of Purdue University v. Wolfspeed Inc. decision granting a motion on a protective order for a high-level witness shows how courts can vary in the application of the apex doctrine and analysis under Rule 26 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, say Genevieve Halpenny and John Cook at Barclay Damon.

• Series

  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

  

  The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

• Calif. Right To Repair Law Highlights A Growing Movement

  

  New legislation in California is a comprehensive victory for the "right to repair" movement — signaling that this push for legal reform represents a multifaceted challenge to the status quo not only on the consumer rights front, but also in the fields of copyright, software, antitrust and warranty law, says Courtney Sarnow at Culhane Meadows.

• Lessons For Biosimilar And Biologic Antitrust Litigation

  

  Aaron Marks at Cohen Milstein considers emerging ways in which biosimilar markets differ from traditional small-molecule drug markets, and recommends how pharmaceutical antitrust litigators can account for these market dynamics in biosimilar-delay cases.

• Teach Your Witness About 'Good' And 'Bad' Testimony Words

  

  To ensure honest and accurate testimony in trials and depositions, attorneys must take care to educate their witnesses about the problematic words opposing counsel may use, such as “always” and “must,” and the effective words they can use in response, like “potentially” and “depends,” say Steve Wood and Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

• Practice Tips To Help Keep Patent Reissuance Options Open

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent denial of Float'N'Grill's reissue application for a floating grill patent shows that certain best practices, including a clear description of alternative structures and a patentability search, allow for a possible widening of a future patent's scope in a broadening reissue, say attorneys at BCLP.

• Hollywood Labor Negotiations Provide AI Road Map

  

  Sigma Khan at Henein Hutchison uses the recent Hollywood labor strikes — one of the first instances of a mass entertainment industry legal conflict where concerns over artificial intelligence's intrusion into the workspace has become a crucial issue — to analyze how litigation, legislation and contracts can aid in a landscape transformation precipitated by AI.

• Why US Should Help European Efforts To Fix SEP Licensing

  

  The European Commission's proposed reform of standard-essential patent licensing aims to fix a fundamental problem stemming from the asymmetry and obscurity of information about SEPs, and U.S. agencies exploring regulation of foreign regimes should support and improve these efforts, say David McAdams at Duke University and David Katz at WilmerHale.

• Opinion

  Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

  

  The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

• When And How Companies Should Build An AI Strategy

  

  Once a company has decided to engage with artificial intelligence, there are myriad steps that need to be taken, beginning with the creation of an AI leadership team that has deep knowledge about the company's business risks and is highly respected by senior management, say Judith Rinearson and Corey Bieber at K&L Gates.