Expert Analysis

• Patent Eligibility Reforms Keep Chasing The Wrong Fixes

  

  Repeated efforts to create a consistent, predictable patent eligibility standard under Section 101 have centered on replacing judge-made exceptions with new statutory language, but the better fix is to align examination standards with how courts actually apply eligibility doctrine, says former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge Amee Shah.

• Opinion

  Qualified Immunity Bill's Reach Goes Beyond Federal Officers

  

  The federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act, introduced earlier this year and described by the bill sponsors as a federal-officer measure, would in actuality reach the entire universe of Section 1983 defendants, a distinction that matters as much to defense counsel as to plaintiffs, says attorney V. James DeSimone.

• State Of Insurance: Q2 Notes From Pennsylvania

  

  Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey highlights notable second-quarter insurance developments in Pennsylvania, including federal court opinions providing guidance on first-party and third-party insurance coverage principles, and a pending bill seeking to regulate health insurers' use of artificial intelligence.

• Assessing DOJ Antitrust's New, Faster Merger Review Option

  

  The U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division's recently announced targeted second request option and new model timing signal a commercially friendly stance and a departure from the prior administration's position, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• NRC Proposal May Reshape Radiation Protection Framework

  

  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposal to drop the long-standing requirement to keep radiation exposure "as low as reasonably achievable," alongside the U.S. Department of Energy's removal of ALARA from its own rules, suggests a broader federal reassessment of radiation protection policy, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

• High Court, SEC Proposals Set Stage For Further Fund Reform

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in FS Credit Opportunities v. Saba Capital Master Fund and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rulemaking packages aimed at public market reforms provide a constructive backdrop for considering additional innovations to the listed fund structure, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• AG Watch: Minn. Defends Prediction Markets Ban

  

  Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has aggressively defended the state's landmark statute banning prediction markets, but the court's July 27 temporary injunction in U.S. v. Minnesota blocking the law from taking effect could set the template for state authority across the country, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Series

  Judges On AI: Examining Administrative, Organizational Uses

  

  U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas examines how artificial intelligence could transform a court's ability to deal with administrative work and organize materials when preparing for hearings or drafting opinions, thereby affording judges more time to resolve contested issues.

• USDA, Treasury Moves May Widen Agricultural Deal Scrutiny

  

  Two agency actions that identify weaknesses in the government’s foreign investment screening architecture signal a broadening of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ jurisdiction over agricultural real estate transactions, more demanding beneficial-ownership resolutions and the coming integration of agency disclosure systems, says researcher Robert Green.

• From Order To Regulation: How EOs Are Reshaping Banking

  

  The pattern of regulatory activity emerging in the wake of the Trump administration's first 18 months of executive orders makes clear that financial institutions should treat presidential directives as early warning signs and not wait for final rules to assess the accompanying compliance impact, says Jonathan Kolodziej at Bradley.

• Rhode Island Self-Checkout Law Signals National Trend

  

  Rhode Island's law limiting self-checkout in retail stores is the first of its kind, but state and local lawmakers across the country are considering similar bills — and if enacted, they could create a patchwork of compliance requirements around issues including staffing, signage and restricted merchandise, says Hannah Flint at Hunton.

• Why 4th Circ.'s Clean Water Act Injunction Ruling Matters

  

  The Fourth Circuit's ruling last month in West Virginia Rivers Coalition v. Chemours, holding that a Clean Water Act permit violation does not automatically create a presumption of irreparable harm that requires a preliminary injunction, avoided a dramatic change in CWA enforcement, say attorneys at Hunton.

• Opinion

  USCIS Delays Shouldn't Mean Detention For EB-5 Investors

  

  Some EB-5 investors with pending petitions were recently detained amid a surge in immigration arrests, but when only U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can resolve a respondent's status, immigration courts shouldn't retain cases they can't decide, and detention shouldn't replace adjudication, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

• What FERC Concurrences Reveal About Large Load Priorities

  

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent orders concerning grid operators' procedures for connecting large loads like data centers to the power grid came with concurring statements from the FERC commissioners, which provide key insights into individual commissioners' concerns and a road map for compliance, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

• USPTO-Fed. Circ. Split Complicates Machine Learning Patents

  

  The wide chasm between the USPTO's and the Federal Circuit's approach to eligibility for machine learning patents means that patent drafters must avoid functional claiming and specifications if they hope to avoid invalidation of a machine learning patent at the appellate court, says attorney Michael Kiklis.