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The Top FCA Developments of 2020

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 02.01.21

Like many other aspects of the legal landscape, 2020 was defined by COVID-19 and emerging areas of exposure and enforcement to come related to pandemic relief funding. But 2020 also saw many other important FCA developments, from case law developments on materiality, causation, pleading requirements, bars to qui tam actions, and the government’s authority to dismiss qui tams, among others. These highlights are among the important developments discussed by C&M attorneys in a “Feature Comment” published in The Government Contractor.

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Client Alert | 2 min read | 04.15.26

Who Invented That? When AI Writes the Code, Patent Validity Issues May Follow

In Fortress Iron, LP v. Digger Specialties, Inc., No. 24-2313 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 2, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reaffirmed what happens when a patent incorrectly lists the true inventors, and that error cannot be corrected under 35 U.S.C. § 256(b), which requires notice and a hearing for all “parties concerned.” In Fortress, the patent owner sought judicial correction to add an inventor under § 256(b), but that inventor could not be located. Because the missing inventor qualified as a “concerned” party under the statute, the lack of notice and a hearing for that inventor made correction under § 256(b) impossible, and the patents could not be saved from invalidity....