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How Can an Investment Invalidate a Patent?
Structuring a venture capital investment is almost always tricky, but if both sides aren't careful, they may inadvertently create problems with any pending patent applications the target company is prosecuting. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) allows certain parties, such as small businesses (referred to generally as “small entities”), to pay reduced fees. This can be a big benefit to small businesses and individual inventors, many of which have only limited funds with which to prosecute a patent application.
Most patent attorneys and patent agents evaluate a client for small entity status based on the “500 employee rule” ' that is, if the client has fewer than 500 employees, they are a small entity. This rule serves well for a quick “ball park” determination and the elimination of large clients from eligibility, however determining whether a party truly qualifies as a small entity is more complicated. For example, in certain circumstances, a company that would qualify as a small business under the Small Business Administration's (SBA) loan qualification guidelines might not qualify as a small entity for the purpose of paying reduced USPTO fees. Improperly claiming small entity status during patent prosecution can open a patent to attack during litigation, and the cost of defending against such a claim can easily exceed the savings on government fees. Careful evaluation of a company's small entity status is therefore warranted before claiming such status.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
CLE Shouldn't Be the Only Mandatory Training for Attorneys
Each stage of an attorney's career offers opportunities for a curriculum that addresses both the individual's and the firm's need to drive success.
Discovery of Claim Construction and Infringement Analysis May be Compelled Prior to a Markman Hearing
A defendant in a patent infringement suit may, during discovery and prior to a <i>Markman</i> hearing, compel the plaintiff to produce claim charts, claim constructions, and element-by-element infringement analyses.