In my last post, “Real Estate Alphabet Soup: O is for Option” I continued my primer on the “alphabet soup” of real estate. This post continues to stir the “alphabet soup” with the letter “P.”...more
This Fall, the California Coastal Commission (“Commission”) was handed down two significant victories, further cementing its authority and jurisdiction within California coastal zones. These cases demonstrate that, in certain...more
Lately, ICE has been more active in making arrests of undocumented individuals. Statistically however, the number of arrests are very small and the “bark” is much bigger than the “bite.” Nonetheless, it is helpful for...more
The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) recently issued a decision in UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside that reverses longstanding Board precedent and holds that employers no longer have to allow nonemployee union...more
Citing judicial criticism, as well as the original Supreme Court decisions on the issue, the NLRB swept away years of precedent permitting union representatives to access public areas of an employer’s premises. In UPMC...more
On June 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued an important decision clarifying whether and when an employer may lawfully exclude union organizers from its privately owned public spaces. Under...more
In 2012, Congress created a new procedure that allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to conduct a litigation-like procedure to review and potentially cancel patents. This procedure - inter partes review (“IPR”) - has...more
On April 24, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC rejecting a Constitutional challenge to the inter partes review (IPR) procedure for challenging an issued...more
In Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, the United States Supreme Court held today, in a 7-2 decision, that the inter partes review process under the America Invents Act (AIA), 35 U.S.C. § 100 et...more
The Georgia Court of Appeals has affirmed the right of private companies to exclude weapons at properties they lease from the government. The Court’s decision on March 14, 2018 in GeorgiaCarry.org, Inc., et al. v. The Atlanta...more
We first covered the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in Oil States Energy Servs., LLC v. Greene’s Energy Grp., LLC, 137 S. Ct. 2239 (2017), a case with the potential to substantially alter the patent litigation landscape,...more
Perhaps overlooked in the widespread assessments of the Supreme Court's questioning of the parties in Oil States Energy Services, LLC. v. Greene's Energy Group, LLC is the argument before the Court in SAS Institute, Inc. v....more
Leading up to the Supreme Court oral argument for Oil States Energy Services, LLC. v. Greene's Energy Group, LLC on November 27, 2017, there was a lot of discussion regarding whether patents were a private or public right. ...more
On November 27, 2017, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether the inter partes review process established by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in implementing portions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act or...more
Last week, we provided a preview of the Supreme Court case Oil States Energy Services, LLC. v. Greene's Energy Group, LLC. that will be argued on November 27, 2017. The underlying case has received a lot of attention, so it...more
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Servs., LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, to decide whether inter partes review (IPR) violates the Constitution by extinguishing patent rights...more
In a move that could drastically change the patent law landscape, the United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Services LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group LLC, No. 16-712, to answer the question...more
The key question for the Court is whether an agency or only an Article III court may cancel an issued patent - The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Services LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, No....more
In 1970 the California Supreme Court held that, under certain circumstances, private property owners impliedly dedicate their property to the public if they permit the public to use it. Gion v. City of Santa Cruz (1970) 2...more
The Supreme Court has granted a writ of certiorari challenging the constitutionality of inter partes review proceedings conducted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the America Invents Act. The Court’s...more
The Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari to address whether inter partes review – an adversarial process used by the Patent Office to determine the validity of existing patents – is unconstitutional in Oil...more
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court in Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group, No. 16-712 (U.S. June 12, 2017) granted certiorari to decide next term if certain American Invents Act (AIA) review proceedings,...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that may have profound implications for U.S. patent law by abolishing inter partes reviews at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). In Oil States Energy...more
Hundreds of new Tennessee laws went into effect on July 1, 2015. The following is a summary and link to several new laws which can affect Tennessee businesses. SB 1058 – Wrongful discharge for firearms and ammunition....more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a supermarket violated a political candidate’s state constitutional rights when the store manager prevented him from collecting nomination signatures on the sidewalk...more