The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted seven requests for Director Review in the first quarter of 2025 and reported denying fifty-three requests during this same period. By comparison, the USPTO granted four requests for Director review in the last quarter of 2024 and reported denying 38 requests. The latest Director Review opinion suggests a policy shift towards more discretionary denials of IPR petitions, even with a Sotera stipulation.

On March 20, 2025, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the SEC) Division of Corporation Finance issued new guidance that permits Form S-3 registration statements that are not automatically effective upon filing, typically used by issuers that are not well-known seasoned issuers (WKSIs), to be declared effective after the issuer files its Annual Report on Form 10-K but before filing the proxy statement containing information required by Part III of Form 10-K (Part III Information) that was properly omitted from the issuer’s timely filed Form 10-K.

On January 24, 2025, the United States Supreme Court ordered expedited briefing to resolve the current circuit split over whether a federal court may certify a class action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) when some members of the proposed class lack any Article III injury.