Beyond The Stimulus Check: How The Latest COVID-19 Stimulus Relief Bill May Affect Your Intellectual Property
Lindsay Cutié
Buried within the nearly 5,600-page Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the bill providing the federal government’s latest installment of stimulus relief for the COVID-19 pandemic that was signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020, is legislation impacting most forms of intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, and patents. After the Act goes completely into effect later this year, third parties will be able to challenge trademark registrations and applications through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), a copyright small-claims forum will make it easier for professional creators and small businesses to enforce their rights, biological product sponsors will have to disclose their patents to the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and more.
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The Post-Fintiv World: The Interplay Between PTAB Discretionary Factors to Deny Institution and Parallel Litigation
Paul Ragusa, Kanxian Ding*
The institution rate of inter partes review (“IPR”) has generally declined since its inception in September 2012—from a high of approximately 83% in 2013 to a low of 58% in 2020. A driving force behind the falling rate, particularly after 2017, is an increasing procedural denial rate, mostly attributable to discretionary denial under § 314(a).
To read the full article, click here.
*Kanxian Ding, a Baker Botts Law Clerk, assisted in the preparation of this article.

Webinar: What’s Next for Crypto?
Baker Botts and Team Blockchain are delighted to host a webinar discussing What's Next for Crypto? on Wednesday 3 March 2021 at 5pm (GMT).
Speakers: Ali Dhanani, Sarah Beaumont
Key Speakers from the Sector will be Sharing their Insights on Various Topics Including:
• The current: Review of some of the recent developments in the Blockchain and Digital Assets sectors
• What's trending: The rise of NFT Tokens and crypto-collectibles
• Understanding crypto investing:
• an insight into CryptoEQ’s independent cryptocurrency analysis and rating agency business
• an overview by Aaro Capital on how best to gain exposure to Blockchain & Cryptoasset
• The future: The interaction between Blockchain and ESG
To register for the event please click here.

A Conversation with Walter Isaacson: The Biotech Revolution and the Woman Who Launched It
In partnership with the Chapter Network of The National Association of Corporate Directors, you are invited to a virtual conversation with Walter Isaacson and Dr. Helene Gayle, President & CEO of the Chicago Community Trust. Baker Botts is proud to be a program sponsor for this event.

In his new book, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race, Mr. Isaacson provides a gripping account of Dr. Jennifer Doudna's co-discovery of CRISPR, an easy-to-use gene-editing method that can revise DNA. CRISPR, the most critical biological advancement since the discovery of the DNA structure, has enabled scientists to change or remove genes quickly and with great precision. It has also launched a life sciences revolution—one with ethical issues that deserve our attention. Jennifer Doudna was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 for her co-discovery of CRISPR.
To register for the webinar, click here.
*Event capacity is limited. Your acceptance to attend includes a free copy of the book delivered to you.

GDPR Enforcement Was Up in 2020. What Does That Mean for You In 2021?
Nick Palmieri
After more than two years, GDPR enforcement trends are beginning to emerge. We are seeing the types of enforcement actions that data protection authorities (DPAs) across the European Union (EU) are willing to undertake, as well as the profiles of the targets. In 2020 alone, DPAs issued 318 fines. That is 318 out of 471 GDPR files overall so far. In this alert, we summarize the lessons learned from GDPR enforcement in 2020, which has had the bulk of enforcement action. And we discuss what these actions could mean for companies in 2021.
To read the full article, click here.
*This article was previously published on LegalTech News on February 17, 2021.

Digital Payment Service Provider Settles with OFAC for Apparent U.S. Sanctions Violations Associated with Digital Currency Transactions
Paul Luther, Matt West, Jason Wilcox, Joyce Adetutu, Carie Cartwright
On February 18, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced the entry into a $507,375 settlement with BitPay, Inc. (“BitPay”), a bitcoin payment service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, for over two thousand apparent violations of multiple U.S. sanctions programs.
To read the full article, click here.

Fourth Circuit Opens the Door for Private Litigants to Force Divestiture of Acquired Businesses Years Down the Road
Joseph Ostoyich, Jana Seidl, Kristina Gliklad
On February 18, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the first divestiture order in an antitrust suit brought by a private plaintiff which challenged its rival’s acquisition four years after the transaction. Post-consummation merger challenges are rare and—until now—have only been successful when brought by the government. Indeed, the Fourth Circuit remarked that “no court had ever ordered divestiture in a private suit before this case," but held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in doing so here: “this case is a poster child for divestiture.” Private parties, while permitted under §16 of the Clayton Act to sue to block or unwind mergers, seldom do so, typically opting instead to participate in the pre-closing investigative review process conducted by the Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (“DOJ”).
To read the full article, click here.

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