Tagged: Audits

FTC Proposes Rules to Codify Reporting of Exclusive Patent Right Transfers in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Is the sale or assignment of a patent reportable? The Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR”) and related rules require that all acquisitions of voting securities or assets exceeding a threshold amount be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), as well as the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. The current threshold is $68.2 million.

NJDEP Licensing Board Sets April 18 Deadline for Comments on LSRP Audit Process

The Audit Committee of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board is soliciting comments on its draft process and questionnaire for the completion of statutorily required audits of the work of Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs). The Committee is accepting comments until April 18, 2011. The Board intends to finalize the process and questionnaire at its May 2, 2011 meeting.

Corporate Reorganization Absent Assignment or License of Patent Rights Results In Preclusion Of Patentee’s Lost Profits Damages

In a decision that highlights the import of assigning or licensing intellectual property assets during corporate reorganization, a district court recently ruled that a plaintiff patentee was not entitled to lost profit damages based on the patent at issue in an infringement action. In Duhn Oil Tool, Inc. v. Cooper Cameron Corporation (CAED January 24, 2011) Duhn Oil Tool, Inc. filed suit against Cooper Cameron Corporation alleging patent infringement. Following discovery, the defendant filed a motion for partial summary judgment arguing that the plaintiff patentee was not entitled to lost profits damages.

CONSUMERS FAIL TO MAKE THEIR MARK: Pro Se Plaintiffs Initiating Qui Tam Suits Under The False Marking Statute Face Uphill Battle

What do adjustable bow ties have in common with disposable coffee cup lids? Not much, other than the fact that they have recently been at the center of false patent marking suits brought against major corporations not by competitors, but consumers. In each case, a consumer noticed that markings on certain products referred to patents which had long since expired.