A focus on multinationals: Whistleblower incentives on the international stage
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.05.21
2020 was one of the first years in memory when many multinationals saw a reduction in the number of internal whistleblower complaints, and a sharp increase in the number of external whistleblower complaints. In this environment, several countries around the world are finding ways to incentivize external whistleblower complaints, including—following the United States’ lead—providing bounties tied to money that governments recover as a result of those complaints. In this article by Crowell & Moring Partner Preston Pugh and Incoming 2022 First Year Associate Danielle Alvarez, part one of a two-part series, we discuss the development of these laws and the specific types of complaints whistleblower bounty laws cover. In part two, we will provide recommendations on how multinationals can best prepare for these developments.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
