- Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Administration’s Termination ofDACA
- SCOTUS Declines to Hear Net Neutrality Suit
- Administration Announces National Science Board Appointments from AAU Universities
- Associations Seek Guidance on Industrial Hemp Research
- USPTO Publishes New Procedures for Amendments in Patent Proceedings
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST ADMINISTRATION’S TERMINATION OF DACA
A California federal appeals court yesterday blocked the administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which protects from deportation young immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children. The three-judge panel based in San Francisco ruled unanimously in favor of a lower court’s preliminary injunction barring the administration from ending the program. In response to the appeals court ruling, a Justice Department spokesperson said, “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend its position on this matter and looks forward to vindicating that position before the Supreme Court.”
Prior to the appeals court ruling, the Justice Department earlier this week petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to circumvent the appeals court and determine DACA’s fate.
SCOTUS DECLINES TO HEAR NET NEUTRALITY SUIT
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a 2016 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which found that the FCC acted within its powers when approving rules to impose new obligations on Internet providers. The Supreme Court’s decision ensures that parties challenging the FCC’s 2017 repeal of net neutrality rules can continue to rely on the U.S. Court of Appeals’ 2016 ruling, which supports the argument that the repeal is contrary to law.
AAU submitted a brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in support of Obama-era net neutrality rules, stating that a repeal would have a negative impact on universities’ educational, research, and public service activities. AAU filed comments with the FCC in July 2017 and December 2017 in advance of the agency’s vote to repeal the Obama administration's net neutrality rules.
ASSOCIATIONS SEEK GUIDANCE ON INDUSTRIAL HEMP RESEARCH
AAU, APLU, and COGR on Monday sent a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders to ask that provisions clarifying federal guidance on industrial hemp research be included in the final farm bill. The letter says the provisions would reduce the federal barriers to conducting research involving industrial hemp, including extracts like cannabidiol extract, which has potential therapeutic effects.
USPTO PUBLISHES NEW PROCEDURES FOR AMENDMENTS IN PATENT PROCEEDINGS
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week published a draft of new procedures for amending patent claims in post-grant review and inter partes review proceedings. The new protocol will allow patent owners to amend their claims more easily during administrative patent challenges before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Patent owners have long complained (since passage of the 2011 America Invents Act) that the current process for amending claims in challenges reviewed by PTAB is unfair, and that as a result PTAB very rarely approves motions to amend.
These proposed changes were among recommendations submitted by AAU, APLU, COGR, AUTM, and AAMC in May 2018. USPTO will accept comments until December 14. AAU, in conjunction with other higher education associations, is considering submitting comments. Individual universities may wish to do so as well.