The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Universal Service Fund (USF) funding mechanism is unconstitutional. The full court, sitting en banc, rejected the framework established by the Federal Communications Commission...more
On September 9, 2024, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced at an event in Washington, D.C. that the agency will be seeking Supreme Court review of a recent decision finding aspects...more
Interstate oil, liquid and refined products pipelines regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will soon be able to raise their transportation rates (provided they were set using FERC’s popular Index rate...more
Now that the dust has settled following the Supreme Court’s overhaul of administrative law through three late-term decisions, Akin litigators and policy advisors offer the most significant takeaways for businesses and...more
7/31/2024
/ CFTC ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Enforcement ,
FERC ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Interpretation
On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-3 in Snyder v. United States that a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), does not criminalize “gratuities” to state and local officials—i.e., payments made to those...more
On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision in the case of Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, L.P., No. 22-1165. Justice Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous Court, ruled that “pure...more
The legal battles over the constitutionality of Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions continue as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has granted a request for the full court to re-hear a challenge to the...more
The Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Arthrex, Inc., which considered whether Administrative Patent Judges’ (APJs) authority to issue decisions in inter partes reviews on behalf of the executive branch is...more
6/22/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Appointments Clause ,
Arthrex Inc v Smith & Nephew Inc ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Inferior Officers ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
United States v Arthrex Inc
Key Points:
- On February 9, 2021, the New York Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the dismissal of a defamation action brought by Eros International plc, an Indian media company, against several short sellers...more
In a recent precedential decision, the 2nd Circuit held that funds could delegate beneficial ownership to their investment managers, thereby eliminating the funds’ disgorgement liability under Section 16(b) of the Securities...more
12/4/2020
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Appellate Courts ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Disgorgement ,
General Partnerships ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Section 16 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
- The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Thryv, Inc. v. Click-to-Call Technologies, LP, that the PTAB’s application of the one-year time limit for petitions for inter partes review, set out in 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), is not subject to...more
4/23/2020
/ § 314(d) ,
§ 315(b) ,
§314(a) ,
§314(b) ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Thryv Inc v Click-To-Call Technologies LP ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Vacated
- Our country is in a national state of emergency over COVID-19. Almost every state has declared its own state of emergency, and many states have started invoking their emergency powers.
- An emergency does not allow...more
On Friday, August 9, 2019, in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, No. 18-11479, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit declared that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its implementing federal regulations (“the Final Rule”)...more
8/14/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Commandeering ,
Appeals ,
Child Custody ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of the Interior ,
Equal Protection ,
Final Rules ,
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) ,
Native American Issues ,
Non-Delegation Doctrine ,
Reversal ,
Standing ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tenth Amendment
• The Supreme Court in WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp. held 7-2 that because ION exported components of WesternGeco’s patented system in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(2), WesternGeco was entitled to recover damages...more
6/26/2018
/ 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(2) ,
35 U.S.C. § 284 ,
Appeals ,
Damages ,
Domestic Injury ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Sales ,
Lost Profits ,
Patent Act ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
WesternGeco LLC v Ion Geophysical Corporation
• The Supreme Court in Oil States v. Greene’s Energy ruled 7-2 that cancellation of patent claims in an inter partes review does not violate either Article III or the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution.
• In SAS...more
5/1/2018
/ America Invents Act ,
Article III ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Oil States Energy Services v Greene's Energy Group ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Public Rights Doctrine ,
SAS Institute Inc. v Iancu ,
SCOTUS ,
Seventh Amendment ,
USPTO
• The Supreme Court in Jesner v. Arab Bank ruled 5-4 that suits against foreign corporations under the ATS are barred, answering a question left unresolved in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.
• Although the decision...more
In a highly anticipated opinion significantly narrowing the first prong of the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), the Supreme Court in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC unanimously held that a domestic...more
5/25/2017
/ Forum Selection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Primary Residence ,
Principal Place of Business ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Venue