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The Surprising Efficacy of Inter Partes Patent Re-examination
In creating inter partes re-examination, Congress hoped to provide a faster, cheaper alternative for resolving questions of patent validity in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), rather than in the courts. As a measure of the procedure's growing popularity and availability, the rate of requests for inter partes re-examination has steadily increased each year, totaling more than 308 since the procedure was created in November 1999 (USPTO Inter Partes Re-examination Filing Data (Sept. 30, 2007). But, while the pace of re-exam requests continues to increase, the end results of completed proceedings have received relatively little attention.
Here, we report the outcomes of all inter partes re-examinations completed as of August 2008. Although this is a small sample size and it is still too early to form any strong conclusions, there are some important results apparent in this sample. Surprisingly, the proceedings displayed a high 73% “kill” rate (complete elimination of all claims targeted by the requesters) ' a rate which is far above that in litigation (33%) and ex parte re-examination (12%) (See Kimberly A. Moore, Judges, Juries, and Patent Cases ' An Empirical Peek Inside the Black Box, 99 Mich. L. Rev. 365 (2000) and Dennis Crouch, Ex Parte Reexamination Statistics II, Patently-O, available at www.patentlyo.com/patent/2008/06/ex-parte-reexam.html (posted Jun. 25, 2008)).
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.
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.
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.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.