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A License By Any Other Name: When Is an Exclusive License Not an Exclusive License?
Section 261 of the Patent Act (35 U.S.C. '261) contemplates that a patent may be assigned as opposed to licensed. But often the two cannot be so easily distinguished. In practice, the difference between a grant of rights in a patent qualifying as an assignment, an exclusive license or a nonexclusive license often turns on the patentee's granting or withholding of a single right. Yet very different consequences flow from each of those designations.
For example, an assignee of a patent can bring suit in its own name to enforce the patent against infringers. An exclusive licensee may also bring suit to enforce the patent, but must join the patentee as a plaintiff (the only exception being when the exclusive licensee is suing the patentee). An assignee has the right to seek reissue of the patent and to disclaim the patent under 35 U.S.C. '253, while an exclusive licensee does not. A nonexclusive licensee, however, has only a bare right not to be sued, and since it has no expectation of exclusivity, has no right to commence suit against infringers.
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.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.