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Kyocera Senco Industrial Tools Inc. v. International Trade Commission, Appeal No. 2020-1046, -2050 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 21, 2022) The Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent decision this week comes on appeal from the International Trade Commission, where an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found noninfringement and the Commission reversed. The Federal Circuit addressed the issues of qualifications to provide technical expert testimony, claim construction, and references ...

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act assigned the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General (OIG) responsibility for compliance monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF Payments). OIG has also been given the authority to recoup CRF Payments in the event OIG determines that a recipient did not comply with Treasury regulations governing the use of CRF Payments ...

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act brings opportunity for ANCs and their partners The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (The Act) presents great opportunities for Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) to participate in broadband and other infrastructure projects ...

Nature Simulation Systems Inc. v. Autodesk, Inc., Appeal No. 2020-2257 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 27, 2022) In its only precedential patent decision this week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit corrected what it considered to be an incorrect standard for claim indefiniteness applied by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In doing so, the Federal Circuit reversed the lower court’s holding that claims of Nature Simulation Systems, Inc ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced on January 28, 2022, that this year’s annual application period for the FY 2022 H-1B program will run from March 1, 2022, through March 18, 2022. Continuing the new electronic registration process that USCIS implemented for the first time two years ago, employers seeking new H-1B visas must register electronically with USCIS during the 16-day window. USCIS will then review all registrations submitted ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

On January 28, 2022, the Small Business Administration announced that it had issued its Tribal Consultation Policy of 2022. In this policy, SBA stated that “it is the policy of the U.S ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

House Bill 4116 directs the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to identify sources of pollutants and develop strategies to reduce pollutants in order to respond to harmful algal blooms. HB 4116 also directs the Oregon Health Authority to coordinate with DEQ to identify water sources that are susceptible to harmful algal blooms and develop a system for monitoring and testing water sources ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

On January 27, 2022, Governor Jay Inslee signed two bills that delay implementation of the Washington Cares Act to July 1, 2023, including the 0.58% payroll tax, and provide additional exemptions from the program. The Act provides a long-term care benefit for Washington residents who pay into a long-term care fund as employees in the state via the payroll tax ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

The Federal Circuit issued numerous precedential opinions last week, two of which answered long simmering questions about inter partes reviews (IPRs).  Below we discuss a case addressing whether admissions of prior art in the patent itself can be considered as prior art in an IPR.  Our Case of the Week reversed Federal Circuit precedent concerning the scope of IPR Estoppel ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

Adapt Pharma Operations Limited v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Appeal No. 2020-2106 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 10, 2022) In our Case of the Week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in both the majority opinion and dissent, provided an extended discussion of obviousness analyses. This discussion comes in the context of the Federal Circuit affirming the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey’s finding, namely, that U.S. Patent Nos ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act from the U.S. Congress, signed into law November 15 by President Biden, provides $1.2 trillion to rebuild roads and bridges, water infrastructure, resilience, and internet, with a focus on infrastructure improvements and expansion of broadband networks.  The Biden Administration has established a website for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that contains helpful links to programs and program descriptions ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

The Oregon legislature is currently considering, as part of its February 2022 session, three bills that form a comprehensive set of changes to the Oregon Forest Practices Act (Senate Bill 1501), create a small forestland owner tax credit (Senate Bill 1502), and update the forest harvest tax (House Bill 4055). The bills stem from negotiations between private forestry companies, small woodland owners, conservation groups, and fishing organizations ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

The Oregon legislature is currently considering, as part of its February 2022 session, three bills that form a comprehensive set of changes to the Oregon Forest Practices Act (Senate Bill 1501), create a small forestland owner tax credit (Senate Bill 1502), and update the forest harvest tax (House Bill 4055). The bills stem from negotiations between private forestry companies, small woodland owners, conservation groups, and fishing organizations ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

As part of our original 2021 Don't Count Portland Out series, weasked dozens of community and business leaders for one of twothings. We wanted to hear their "Portland Stories," detailing theirbackground in the Rose City and how it shaped their desire to,among the region's myriad challenges a year ago, make Portlandbetter. We further asked some of the changemakers for their "Big Ideas"that the powers-that-be could cull in hopes of improving the plightof all denizens ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

On February 10, 2022, a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which amends the Federal Arbitration Act to add a new provision that makes pre-dispute agreements requiring arbitration of “sexual harassment” and “sexual assault” claims unenforceable at the claimant’s option ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

Starting January 30, 2022, new federal contracts that are not procurement contracts must include a clause requiring federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour to workers performing work on or in connection with the federal contract. That minimum wage rate will increase annually based on changes to the Consumer Price Index. The federal government predicts that this requirement may impact over half a million firms. Federal contractors with procurement contracts (i.e ...

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt | February 2022

Originally published on October 23, 2021 Revitalizing Brownfields has long been considered a centerpiece for community efforts to encourage growth and development of properties impacted by contamination.  In 2021, Oregon’s Legislature passed HB 2518, which seeks to enhance Brownfield development by making forgivable loans available to assist with the cleanup of blighted properties ...

DBN Holding, Inc. v. International Trade Commission, Appeal No. 2020-2342 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 1, 2022) The Federal Circuit issued only one precedential decision this week relating to a patent case. On this appeal—the fourth in the case—the issues were far removed from issues concerning patent law, and instead related to modifications of consent orders. Thus, we cover the case only in abbreviated form ...

On December 23, 2021, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the federal government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a decision in the size appeal of Odyssey Sys. Consulting Grp., SBA No. SIZ-6135 (Dec. 23, 2021), that contains a helpful discussion of the principle that an entity’s status as a small business at the time of “offer plus price” remains through the life of the contract, even if that entity subsequently becomes other than small ...

Two years after Portland law firms sent employees home to work remotely during the Covid-19 public emergency, they are starting to return to downtown — but not to the five-day-a-week routine of pre-pandemic times. “As employers, we have to be flexible to the myriad of circumstances,” said Graciela Gomez Cowger, CEO of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. “We’ve been profoundly disrupted ...

Two years after Portland law firms sent employees home to work remotely during the Covid-19 public emergency, they are starting to return to downtown — but not to the five-day-a-week routine of pre-pandemic times. “As employers, we have to be flexible to the myriad of circumstances,” said Graciela Gomez Cowger, CEO of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. “We’ve been profoundly disrupted ...

In re: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and In re: Hyundai Motor America, Appeal Nos. 2022-108, -109 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 9, 2022) In the most recent of multiple mandamus rulings issued by the Federal Circuit in relation to Western District of Texas Judge Alan D ...

When faced with an OSHA citation, it is not uncommon for an employer to acknowledge that a rule was violated, accept the citation, pay the penalty, and move on. Often, evidence that a rule was violated is easily obtained by an OSHA inspector ...

BASF Plant Sci., LP v. Commonw. Scientific and Indus. Research Org., Appeal Nos. 2020-1415, -1416, -1919, -1920 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 15, 2022) Our Case of the Week, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, has something for everyone: questions of venue and statutory interpretation, invalidity and written descriptions, contracts and co-ownership of patents, and willfulness, injunctions, and royalty rates ...

Oral Argument Scheduled for April 8 on Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Injunction Scheduled for April 8, 2022, with each side being afforded 15 minutes for argument. It appears that oral argument may be livestreamed by the 11th Circuit.  Injunction Against Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Oral argument held on the United States’ appeal of a federal district court judge’s December 7, 2021, decision in Georgia v. Biden, Case No ...

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