The FAR overhaul has not changed the central patent-rights bargain for federally funded inventions. The governing statutory framework remains Bayh-Dole and 37 C.F.R. Part 401. In the FAR Council’s current Part 27 model text, the principal patent clauses—including FAR 52.227-11, Patent Rights—Ownership by the Contractor, and FAR 52.227-13, Patent Rights—Ownership by the Government—were retained without text changes. The same is true of the key patent-infringement clauses: Auth

Key employees often have access to valuable customer lists, pricing models, product roadmaps, and technical know-how. Much of this is the company's confidential information. At least some of this, if valuable and properly maintained, may also be trade secrets. So what happens when these key employees leave the company? The right answer is not panic or a boilerplate exit interview that nobody takes seriously. A departure should trigger a consistent process designed to protect

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., 608 U.S. ___ (2026), is not simply another skinny-label case. For patent litigators, its larger significance is evidentiary. The decision forces a sharper distinction between three concepts that often blur together in induced-infringement cases: knowledge of infringement, commercial benefit from infringement, and affirmative conduct that encourages infringement. Only the third proves i

In recent years, inter partes review, or IPR, has been the best-known Patent Office procedure for challenging issued patent claims. Now, recent developments at the USPTO have made ex parte reexamination worth a closer look. Why the renewed interest? The Patent Office has recently changed how it handles discretionary denial issues in IPR and post-grant review proceedings. In 2025, the USPTO announced an interim process that separates discretionary-denial issues from the merits

In closely held family companies, intellectual property is often treated as a shared asset in much the same way as reputation or customer relationships. That works until it doesn't. When relationships shift, whether through succession, disagreement, divorce, or a potential sale, the question of who actually owns the company’s core intellectual property becomes determinative. At that point, informal understandings give way to formal rights, and many businesses discover that ow

Companies sometimes choose trade secret protection over filing patent applications to avoid public disclosure and reduce upfront cost, particularly where patent infringement would be difficult to detect or patentability may be uncertain. That decision can be entirely rational and is often wise. But it carries a risk: what happens if a third party later obtains a patent covering similar technology? At that point, the question is no longer how to protect the innovation. It is w

Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements have become a central tool for the Department of Defense to engage non-traditional contractors, particularly in areas such as advanced manufacturing, materials, and rapid prototyping. Whether the program sits with the Navy, the Army, or the Air Force, these arrangements allow prime contractors to access capabilities that would otherwise fall outside the traditional defense industrial base. When those collaborations succeed, a predi

Many trademark problems don’t start in the legal department. They start in design, marketing, or social media. This is where a phrase that looks great but does not actually function as a trademark. Let's not do that. Here is now to use selected marks the best way for legal purposes. What Brand Managers Need to Know About “Failure to Function” in Trademarks Today, one of the fastest-growing reasons trademarks are refused or weakened is something called “failure to function.” A

For years, defense contractors have been told that the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is coming. Then it stalled. Then it returned in revised form. After enough false starts, it became easy to tune it out—just another compliance initiative perpetually on the horizon. That instinct is understandable. It is also increasingly risky. What actually changes in 2026 is not the existence of the rule, but its practical consequences. That is when some contractors—qui

Generative AI tools are now embedded in daily work across organizations. Employees use them to draft emails, memos, summarize documents, and brainstorm strategy. In many cases, that use happens casually and without consultation with legal. What feels like a productivity shortcut to an employee can look very different from the perspective of in-house counsel. The reality facing legal departments in 2026 is not whether employees are using AI tools in ways that conflict with com

Many in-house lawyers inherit export controls without warning. One day it is contracts or IP; the next day someone tells you engineering, HR, and IT are now an “export risk.” That is not an exaggeration. EAR and ITAR regulate who inside your company is legally allowed to know what. Export controls are not mainly about shipping products. They are about information. Design drawings, source code, test data, manufacturing processes, and technical manuals can all become regulated

After our Part I post on the vocabulary of startup funding, we sought to provide additional guidance to founders with new products. Their product exists in some stage of development. There’s early interest—maybe a pilot customer or two. The founder has started hearing phrases like “traction,” “runway,” and “institutional capital,” often in the same week. This is typically where Michigan founders begin to feel a little unmoored—not because the business is weak, but because fun

If you are building a startup in Michigan, fundraising can feel opaque—not because capital is unavailable, but because it comes in stages, each with its own logic, expectations, and tradeoffs. This post is meant to demystify those stages by explaining why they exist, what they are designed to fund, and how Michigan founders typically experience them. Rather than treating funding rounds as labels, it helps to see them as checkpoints in a company’s development. Each round answe

For more than a decade, § 101 has been the dark cloud over U.S. patent practice. Even companies with sophisticated R&D pipelines routinely find themselves stuck in eligibility quicksand, watching well-designed innovations get bounced as “abstract ideas” or “mere data processing.” Yet the surprising truth is this: the companies that consistently avoid § 101 headaches aren’t doing anything exotic. They aren’t filing longer applications, or denser ones, or even necessarily more

Government shutdowns create widespread operational uncertainty. The impact on intellectual property agencies varies significantly because these offices are funded in different ways. For businesses, creators, and in-house counsel, understanding those distinctions is key to maintaining rights and avoiding preventable delays. USPTO: Continuing Operations With Reserves The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) remains open and operating normally. Unlike many federal agencies,

As the calendar winds down, most businesses are focused on closing the books and planning for the next fiscal year. But one often-overlooked task can yield some of the best strategic value—an intellectual property (IP) audit. Whether your company builds software, manufactures components for jet engines, or delivers professional services, your IP is likely one of your most valuable assets. A year-end audit ensures that these assets are properly aligned with your busines goals

In the age of smartphones and viral videos, what you say or do online—and even off-duty in public—can quickly become everyone’s business. Employees are sometimes surprised to learn that controversial posts or public acts can lead to discipline or firing even if they never identify their employer. Be careful out there, and be careful on line. Why Employers Care (Even When You Don’t ID Them) Employers have a lot at stake when it comes to how their employees appear in public—onl

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly transforming industries and businesses. Governments worldwide are catching up. Expect new laws and regulations, and plan accordingly. The Developing Regulatory Landscape The European Union’s AI Act is currently in the process of implementation. It is the most comprehensive attempt to regulate AI to date. It introduces a risk-based framework, imposing stricter requirements on high-risk applications such as biometric identification, medic

Intellectual property (IP) plays a central role in driving innovation for cleaner energy, eco-friendly products, and green technologies. For businesses looking to grow in this evolving market, structure your IP agreements to maximize revenue and sustainability. The Rise of Green Innovation Governments, investors, and consumers are pushing companies to develop technologies that reduce carbon emissions, conserve resources, and promote sustainability. From renewable energy syste

The U.S. Department of Commerce is considering a dramatic change to the patent maintenance fee system: replacing or supplementing the current flat-fee schedule with an annual levy of between 1% and 5% of each patent’s assessed value. The proposal’s stated goal is to generate substantial new federal revenue, potentially in the tens of billions of dollars annually. However, reaction from patent owners, practitioners, industry groups, and academic experts has been overwhelmingly