This Year

Posted on: Mon, 13 May 2013 16:38:55 +0000

In what can only fairly be characterized as a patent tragedy, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit now has no official position on the patentability of system claims that objectively recite volumes of tangible structures that clearly satisfy the machine-or-transformation test. Less than 5 years after giving the industry the rigid [...]More

Posted on: Fri, 17 May 2013 12:48:24 +0000

On Monday, May 13, 2013, the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that a farmer who buys Monsanto’s patented seeds cannot then propagate new seeds for future use without infringing the underlying patent. The opening paragraph in the Court’s decision, which was delivered by Justice Kagan, succinctly captures the essence of the [...]More

Posted on: Wed, 22 May 2013 21:00:16 +0000

Recently there has been some interesting news coming from the USPTO…and about the USPTO budget, courtesy of AIPLA taking up the fight against sequestration with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). What follows is a synopsis of events over the past week. Addressing the RCE Problem Last week, the United States Patent and Trademark [...]More

Posted on: Fri, 24 May 2013 16:57:02 +0000

On April 23, 2013, Apple obtained U.S. Patent No. 8429407, titled Digital Handshake between Devices. Creating a secure connection between two devices that are in close physical proximity allows users to share a great deal of digital content. Instead of showing a webpage or document to another person by turning the screen towards them, a [...]More

Posted on: Thu, 30 May 2013 16:13:00 +0000

Since the United States Supreme Court first addressed the patentability of computer software in Gottschalk v. Benson, the law surrounding the patentability of software has changed considerably, leaving many to wonder whether software is in fact patentable at all. Originally in Benson, the Supreme Court decided that software was not patentable, but then later retracted the blanket [...]More

Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:04:28 +0000

Several weeks ago, the Federal Circuit issued another decision relating to the “domestic industry” requirement. Motiva, LLC appealed the decision of the International Trade Commission that Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Nintendo of America, Inc. did not violate § 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by importing, selling for importation, or selling certain video game systems [...]More

Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:51:13 +0000

On Tuesday, June 4, 2013, the Obama Administration announced that the President was taking up the fight against patent trolls with immediate Executive action and by asking Congress to adopt certain legislative reforms. The White House announcement explained that patent trolls are a drain on the economy, but recognized that “no single law or policy [...]More

Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:53:48 +0000

In this edition of USPTO Update: (1) World’s five largest Intellectual Property offices (IP5) meet in Silicon Valley; (2) the USPTO and KIPO announce launch of Cooperative Patent Classification System Pilot; and (3) Peter Pappas, USPTO Chief of Staff, leaving the Office at the end of June 2013. World’s Top IP Offices Meet in Silicon [...]More

Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:24:32 +0000

Electric charging stations are an important part of the future of hybrid electric car use; easy access to charging stations will benefit hybrid vehicle owners tremendously and enable the eventual switch from fossil fuels to electricity. But all will not be smooth sailing in any transition. For example, charging stations can drain a local electrical [...]More

Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:43:09 +0000

Over the past several days, the United States Supreme Court has issued several important decisions that will impact the patent system. First, on June 13, 2013, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Association of Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, which has sometimes been referred to as “ACLU v. Myriad” in recognition of the fact that [...]More

Posted on: Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:00:09 +0000

We are pleased to share the most recent edition of the Simpson Thacher Securities Law Alert, edited by litigation Partners Jonathan Youngwood, Peter Kazanoff, and Paul Gluckow. The following is a summary of the February 2013 edition of the Alert:More

Posted on: Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:00:29 +0000

New CFTC swap clearing rules will force non-financial entities to stop uncleared trading of certain interest-rate swaps (IRS) and index credit default swaps (index CDS) starting on September 9, 2013, unless such entities qualify for and claim the “commercial end-user exception” included in those rules. According to this memo I just received from Skadden's Brian Breheny, corporations will need to take certain steps before the September deadline if ...More

Posted on: Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:00:52 +0000

Sullivan & Cromwell Partner and Practice Center Contributor, Frank Aquila, just sent along an article he co-wrote with Partner Sarah Payne for Bloomberg Law. The article presents some issues for legal and investor relations teams to consider as they seek to increasingly use social media to communicate with investors. Here is an excerpt:More

Posted on: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:00:25 +0000

The year 2012 saw vigorous activity in the creation and implementation of increasingly restrictive sanctions, particularly with respect to Iran. Enforcement of the sanctions has been accompanied by at times very significant penalties. The following update from Gibson Dunn reviews sanctions developments in the United States, European Union and the United Kingdom in 2012 in four areas -- legislation, Executive Orders, regulatory developments, and enforcement ...More

Posted on: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:00:24 +0000

Today we continue our bi-weekly installment shining a light on the best of the corporate and securities blogosphere. Highlights include a pro-business SCOTUS opinion, more revolving door drama, Lululemon exposed and more. If there are any corporate or securities blogs you think should be highlighted by our Top 5, please comment on this post and we’ll check them out!More

Posted on: Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:00:52 +0000

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have continued to bring, or threaten, litigation against U.S. companies following the filing of their annual proxy statements. These complaints generally allege disclosure deficiencies in connection with the approval of equity compensation plans and/or the advisory shareholder “say-on-pay” vote and, as with merger-related “strike suits,” seek to enjoin the annual meeting. According to a new memo we just received from Sullivan ...More

Posted on: Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:00:32 +0000

The SEC recently issued an important guidance update on social media filings by investment companies which is intended to "clarify the obligations of mutual funds and other investment companies to seek review of materials posted on their social media sites." The guidance from the Division of Investment Management is the first in its “IM Guidance Update” series, which will offer the staff’s views on emerging legal issues. We just received this Investment ...More

Posted on: Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:00:59 +0000

In Kallick v. SandRidge Energy, Inc. the Delaware Court of Chancery preliminarily enjoined the board of SandRidge Energy, Inc. from impeding a consent solicitation by one of the Company’s largest stockholders to replace the incumbent directors. The Court found that the directors likely would be breaching their duty of loyalty if they did not “approve” the insurgent slate in the face of a change of control put provision in the company’s public notes ...More

Posted on: Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:00:49 +0000

We are pleased to share the most recent edition of the Simpson Thacher Securities Law Alert, edited by litigation Partners Jonathan Youngwood, Peter Kazanoff, and Paul Gluckow. The following is a summary of the March 2013 edition of the Alert:More

Posted on: Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:00:48 +0000

On April 2nd, the SEC issued a report of investigation that makes clear public companies may use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to announce information in compliance with Regulation FD as long as the companies made investors aware in advance which social media will be used to disseminate the information. Given the increasing frequency with which public companies are using social media to engage with clients, customers, employees, shareholders ...More

Released on: Feb. 7, 2013

Taken from the briefing 10b5-1 Trading Plans and Insider Trading Under the Spotlight: Key Issues Companies and Executives Must Consider recorded January, 2013. A recent front page article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Executives’ Good Luck in Trading Own Stock” reported that, based on the review of thousands of trades by corporate insiders, many executives appear to have done suspiciously well buying and selling their companies’ ...

Recorded on: Feb. 7, 2013

AMY: It is now my pleasure to turn this briefing over to John Tuttle. JONATHAN TUTTLE: Hello all and welcome and thanks for joining on the call today. What Matt and I are going to talk about really had its most recent origin in some newspaper articles that Matt will discuss later talking about 10b5-1 trading plans and bringing those plans kind of back to the forefront of both the enforcement and the corporate issuer context. I think what we're going ...

From the program: School Law Institute (13th Annual)

Released on: Apr. 30, 2013

To effectively represent parents, students, and school districts, practitioners must continue to develop and expand their understanding of the most recent developments in case law, and keep abreast not only of legislative and regulatory changes, but even technological changes as they affect schools and governing laws.In PLI’s 13th Annual School Law Institute, an expert faculty will examine significant new developments in education law and policy, ...

From the program: Consumer Financial Services Institute (18th Annual)

Released on: Apr. 23, 2013

On January 4, 2012, President Obama appointed Richard Cordray as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Since that time, the CFPB has been involved in a whirlwind of regulatory, supervisory and enforcement activities. In addition to the CFPB, state and other federal regulators are pursuing initiatives focused on consumer financial services. This year’s Institute will explore in detail the Bureau’s activities as well ...

• Jun. 24, 2013