Topic Archives: Intellectual Property

March 2, 2021 – Intellectual Property, Protests & Litigation

U.S. Navy Breached Implied-In-Fact Software License, Federal Circuit Decides in Bitmanagement

The Federal Circuit handed a substantial victory to Bitmanagement Software GMBH last week, finding the U.S. Navy had infringed the company’s copyright by installing its three-dimensional visualization software on hundreds of thousands of government computers without using license-tracking software to monitor and limit the number of simultaneous users.  The court’s decision is significant, not only ...›

Defense
January 19, 2021 – Defense, Intellectual Property

The Federal Circuit, in Boeing, Backs Contractors’ Proprietary Markings, but Leaves Open an Important Question on Scope

Federal contractors received some good news from the Federal Circuit this holiday season.  The court held, in Boeing Co. v. Secretary of Air Force, that the Department of Defense (DoD) Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) data rights clauses do not prohibit a contractor from applying its own proprietary markings to technical data in addition to ...›

Intellectual Property
June 11, 2020 – Data Rights, Intellectual Property

FedPubs Intellectual Property Series (June 16-30)

MoFo partner Tina Reynolds, senior counsel Jay DeVecchio, and associate Locke Bell will be presenting an upcoming FedPubs 3-part webinar series on intellectual property rules and regulations in government contracting. The series will provide an overview of the key principles governing the allocation of rights in technical data, computer software, and patents. Attendees will learn ...›

April 16, 2020 – Data Rights, Intellectual Property

The Data Rights Black Hole: DOD Lobbies Congress to Eliminate Proprietary Rights in Your Most Valuable Trade Secrets — Your Detailed Manufacturing and Process Data

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the Department of Defense (“DOD”) and industry came together after more than seven years of discussions and created a rational, logical, and fair constellation of regulations and laws governing the DOD’s and contractors’ rights in technical data and computer software.  These were, and essentially remain, ...›

February 4, 2020 – Compliance, Data Rights, Defense, Intellectual Property, Protests & Litigation

Court of Federal Claims Marks Its Territory, Confirms CDA Jurisdiction Over Proprietary Legends

The Court of Federal Claims recently affirmed its jurisdiction to settle disputes over protective markings in Raytheon Co. v. United States.[i]  In that case, Raytheon asked the Court to review a contracting officer’s demand that Raytheon replace its common proprietary, not-subject-to-release-under-FOIA[ii] marking with the “Government Purpose Rights” legend prescribed by the DFARS. [iii] Among other ...›

Intellectual Property
July 31, 2019 – Data Rights, Defense, Intellectual Property

DOD’s Other Transactions: Data Rights & Intellectual Property Simplified

How To Handle Intellectual Property Rights In OTs:  The Department of Defense is actively pursuing “Other Transactions” (OTs) instead of procurement contracts. This allows DOD and its contractors to avoid many of the most burdensome aspects of the procurement regulations.  But it also allows for even more confusion than usual about how to handle intellectual ...›

Cybersecurity
June 26, 2019 – Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, Data Rights, Federal Procurement, Grants, Intellectual Property

Supreme Court Removes “Substantial Competitive Harm” Requirement for Contractors Seeking to Protect Confidential Information from Release Under FOIA

You can rejoice in a recent Supreme Court decision if you have ever spent hours trying to convince a government agency not to release your company’s confidential information to the public in response to a Freedom of Information request. In a reversal of long-standing precedent in federal district and circuit courts, the Supreme Court ruled ...›

Intellectual Property
December 6, 2018 – Announcements & Press, Data Rights, Intellectual Property, Protests & Litigation

Pub K’s Annual Review Webcast: MoFo Partners Jay DeVecchio and Kevin Mullen Speaking

On December 12, 2018, MoFo partners Jay DeVecchio and Kevin Mullen will participate in Pub K’s Annual Review LIVE Webcast. The Annual Review will provide analysis, updates, and outlook for government contracting professionals for FY 18-19. Jay’s panel, “Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Cybersecurity” will be held from 11:00AM-11:50AM. Kevin’s panel, “Protests” will be held ...›

August 23, 2018 – Data Rights, Intellectual Property

Taking the Mystery Out of Data Rights

Rights in technical data and computer software are increasingly a topic of dispute between contractors and the Government, particularly the Department of Defense (DOD). This is because of three forces: (1) congressional and DOD initiatives to acquire rights in data and software sufficient to implement DOD’s modular open systems approach, which is intended to allow ...›