A Senate panel has advanced three sets of bipartisan bills purportedly aimed at reforming the intellectual property (IP) landscape and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Together, these bills seek to address issues with product hopping and patent thickets. The bills also seek to improve the Continue Reading
Texas District Court Vacates FDA’s Final Rule Expanding Oversight to Laboratory Tests in Hospitals
In our May 2024 Healthcare Alert, we discussed a final rule published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amending its regulations to include in vitro diagnostic products (IVDs), even those manufactured in a laboratory, as devices. The final rule attempted to remove the FDA’s general Continue Reading
Antitrust Implications for Companies Facing Tariffs
If all of the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs take effect, the impact of those tariffs on the US economy and the American people will likely be debated for years to come. Regardless of the outcome of that debate, companies should know that the US antitrust agencies are monitoring the Continue Reading
The Patents Are Coming! The Patents Are Coming!—USPTO Reduces Time to Issue Patents
Under the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) modernization efforts, the time between paying the issue fee and issuance of the patent is being reduced. Faster patent issuance gives patent applicants less time to decide whether to file a continuation or divisional patent application, Continue Reading
New Jersey FY 2026—Department of Education Budget Hearing
On April 21, 2025, New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) Commissioner Kevin Dehmer testified before the Assembly Budget Committee to present the Department’s FY 2026 budget proposal. The proposal outlines a $22.2 billion investment in education. This includes $12.1 billion in direct K-12 school Continue Reading
Mo’ Data, Mo’ Problems: Antitrust Risk in the Age of Big Data
New Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification rules, which took effect in February, require that companies now provide more information than ever before about their prospective mergers. Meanwhile, both federal and state antitrust enforcers continue to step up scrutiny of data-related antitrust harms Continue Reading
The US Antitrust Agencies Join Forces to Cut the Red Tape
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a task force designed to eliminate anticompetitive state and federal laws and regulations that “undermine free market competition and harm consumers, workers, and businesses.” This followed President Trump’s Executive Order 14192, which had similar Continue Reading
A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work: DOJ Scores First Guilty Verdict in a Wage-Fixing Case
After many attempts, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ or Division) has scored the first guilty verdict on a wage-fixing case. For years, the Division has prosecuted wage-fixing and no-poach agreements with little success, but they remained adamant that labor-related price-fixing and Continue Reading
New Executive Order Seeks to Sunset Key Energy Regulations
President Trump signed on April 9, 2025 an executive order titled Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy that seeks to deregulate the energy industry by directing various governmental agencies–the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Continue Reading
Follow the Breadcrumbs: Where Does Consumer Data Go as 23andMe Goes Bankrupt?
23andMe, a pioneer in the DNA testing kit industry, announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and recently asked to select an independent customer data representative regarding any sale of user data. Its bankruptcy raises issues about data privacy and what companies must do to Continue Reading