SBA Proposes Sweeping Expansion of the Mentor-Protégé Program
Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.13.15
On February 5, 2015, the SBA issued a proposed rule implementing portions of FY 2013 NDAA regarding the establishment of a universal mentor-protégé program available to all small businesses (instead of just certain SBA-approved 8(a) contractors under the current program) that would allow, among other benefits, approved mentor-protégés to compete as a joint venture for set-aside awards for which the protégé would otherwise be eligible. The SBA is seeking comments (due by April 6, 2015) on a number of aspects of this proposed rule, including whether the SBA should require all joint ventures in this program to be formed as separate legal entities and whether there should be a maximum of two mentors per protégé.
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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25
From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors
Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
Client Alert | 5 min read | 11.26.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.25.25
Brussels Court Clarifies the EU’s SPC Manufacturing Waiver Regulation Rules
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.24.25
