Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

We are thrilled to introduce our 2025 Partner Class! Congratulations to Amanda Brouillette, Ava Conger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees, Sarah Holland, Maha Khalaj, Andrea M. LaFrance, Tyler McAllister, Tiffani Otey, Rachel Saimons, and Bradi Smith on their election to partner, effective January 1, 2025. “The 2025 Partner Class is a reflection of who we are as a firm and mirrors the diversity of our outstanding clients,” states Kilpatrick Managing Partner Roger Wylie. “This is the most diverse class in our firm’s history—and while we celebrate this milestone, we recognize that our work in this space is ongoing. Kilpatrick leadership looks forward to working with this exceptional group of partners.”   Learn more about our 2025 Partner Class: https://lnkd.in/esGFGVJR

Kilpatrick partner Jordan Goodman recently participated in a presentation on state tax litigation at the 31st Annual Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum in Nashville, Tennessee. Read Jordan 5 Key Takeaways here: https://lnkd.in/eb4Gqcuq

"In 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) received a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) seeking 2016-2020 Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 reports.  Given the large number of contractors that had submitted such reports, the OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register rather than notifying each contractor individually.  That Notice set forth a procedure and timing for contractors to submit objections to the release of their report.  We reported on that issue at the time, and the requests and objections for 2016–2020 EEO-1 Consolidated Reports are still in active litigation.  As such, the outcome of contractors’ previous requests and any submitted objections remains uncertain." Read the Legal Alert from Gunjan Talati , Destiny J. Burch, and Kathryn Trent here: https://lnkd.in/eKAwPa-Y

Last week, Silicon Valley Managing Partner Joseph Petersen took part in the "Current Topics in International Intellectual Property Law and Artificial Intelligence" webinar organized by the International Intellectual Property Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law and cosponsored by the D.C. Bar International Law Community. Joe and the other panelists discussed the rise of artificial intelligence and the applications (or potential applications) of intellectual property law to the field of artificial intelligence, as well as how IP law may impact this rapidly developing field. Do the traditional IP regimes of copyright, patent, and trademark law apply to generative AI products? If so, in what instances and how? Watch the recording and learn more: https://lnkd.in/dKW87eFN

"The law has been settled for generations that the key to whether certain designations are capable of functioning as trademarks (for instance, where there is a question of genericness versus descriptiveness) is how the relevant consuming public perceives them (that is, whether they are perceived by the relevant consuming public as identifying the source of goods and services). In recent years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has taken increasingly aggressive positions on the issue of consumer perception, under which it has subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) set aside established evidentiary constraints as to actual consumer perceptions, substituting instead its own seemingly unsubstantiated assumptions regarding the evidence of record (including any specimen(s) or other evidence of use introduced by the trademark owner during the prosecution of the subject application). In some cases, the USPTO has sought to support these assumptions by formulating, seemingly on the fly, new legal rules and evidentiary presumptions that shift the burden of proof from itself to the applicant and that are often inconsistent or otherwise incompatible with existing USPTO stated practice (most notably relevant provisions of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (“TMEP”) and precedent). This article examines two recent cases in particular where trademark owners successfully overcame the USPTO’s assumptions as to consumer perceptions—primarily through survey evidence in which the USPTO essentially forced the trademark owner to shoulder the prima facie burden (which, by law, the USPTO bears) to establish in the first instance what consumers perceive." Read Christopher Bussert's full article, "Phantom Rules: The USPTO's Disruptive Denial of Trademark Protection in New Communicative Spaces," in The Trademark Reporter, Vol. 114, No. 5: https://lnkd.in/dpsCW-5c 

The IRS has announced inflation-adjusted limits for retirement plans in Notice 2024-80. Partner Sterling Perkinson summarizes the 2025 retirement plan limits here: https://lnkd.in/eBp4rgaw

Client Spotlight | Kilpatrick is proud to have counseled William Penn Bancorporation in its merger with Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. "Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPB) and William Penn Bancorporation (Nasdaq: WMPN) have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Mid Penn to acquire William Penn in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $127 million. The merger will expand Mid Penn’s presence in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan market area and will create a combined community banking franchise with approximately $6.3 billion in total assets." Access the full press release: https://lnkd.in/eEMY3EtA Read Law360's coverage of the deal: https://lnkd.in/eM8_XUcT

Firm Chair Wab Kadaba discussed our new partner class with Tom Spigolon of the Daily Report | ALM yesterday. Check out the article ⬇️

"When it comes to mislabeling and related claims, and especially when human safety is not implicated, express preemption under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) remains a powerful tool in the hands of manufacturers and retailers of over the counter (OTC) drugs. In multidistrict litigation consolidated in the Eastern District of New York, Judge Cogan recently eviscerated the New York state claims alleged by the plaintiffs in a consolidated class action complaint. Judge Cogan also easily dispensed with the federal civil RICO claims alleged by those non-direct purchaser plaintiffs." Read the latest from Jay Bogan on our Class Action blog: https://buff.ly/3CgTJf0

The IRS has released the inflation adjusted benefit plan limits for 2025 health, welfare, and flexible benefit plans. Our Employee Benefits Team's alert on our ERISA blog includes the newly released 2025 limits, along with 2025 limits previously released for HSAs and ACA plans. Check out the post from Mark Stember and the team: https://buff.ly/4ecQpz5