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Holly Fechner

Partner

Holly Fechner has two decades of legal, legislative and public policy experience in the public and private sectors.  Ms. Fechner has a broad-based practice handling legislative and regulatory matters for clients in areas including healthcare, tax, intellectual property, education, and employee benefits.  Drawing on her extensive congressional and private sector experience, Ms. Fechner offers clients comprehensive advocacy services, including strategic advice, substantive legal and regulatory expertise, and policy and message development.  She has a proven track record in assisting clients fulfill their government affairs goals.

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Senate Power-Sharing Agreement Finalized

By Holly Fechner, Layth Elhassani and Brendan Parets on Posted in Congressional Action
After several weeks of negotiations proceeding in fits and starts, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached a power-sharing agreement governing the operation of the evenly divided Senate.  As expected, the deal, which passed by voice vote, largely conforms to the agreement in place when the Senate was last evenly divided … Continue Reading

Democrats Expected to Invoke Congressional Review Act to Repeal Trump-Era Regulations

By Holly Fechner, Matthew Shapanka and Raymond Ngu on Posted in Congressional Action, Regulatory
The nullification of recent Trump Administration regulations is yet another item on the busy agenda for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress.  With Democrats holding both the presidency and narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, some Democrats have advocated using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal Trump-era rules finalized after August 21, 2020, … Continue Reading

Looking Ahead on Tech and Intellectual Property Issues

By Bill Wichterman and Holly Fechner on Posted in Election, Intellectual Property Protection
Technology policy is a growing issue for the Congress, especially since it is to the economy and to our national security what oil was 20 years. Congress has a love-hate relationship with tech: love them for their innovation, jobs, and international competitiveness, and hate them for their size, bias and perceived hubris. Enter antitrust: a … Continue Reading

Preview of the New Senate

By Holly Fechner on Posted in Congressional Action, Election
The election results show how deeply divided the electorate is and that division is reflected in the make-up of the government with a Democratic President and House and a Republican Senate. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have hit upon the right recipe to realign their party and shift a substantial portion of the voters in their … Continue Reading

USPTO Uses CARES Act Authority to Extend Deadlines for Patent and Trademark Owners and Applicants

By Holly Fechner, Matthew Shapanka and Lucas Moench on Posted in Compliance Issues, COVID-19, Financial, Uncategorized
The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act contains a little-known provision to protect inventors during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  Section 12004 of the CARES Act grants the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) director the temporary authority to “toll, waive, adjust, or modify, any timing deadline” established by federal patent or … Continue Reading

CARES Act Will Support Internet Connectivity for Remote Education, Healthcare, and Work

By Holly Fechner, Matthew Shapanka and Eric Chung on Posted in Congressional Action, COVID-19, Health Issues
As millions of American workers, students, and patients stay home to help combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes funding for the transition to remote life among its many relief provisions. With specific funding for broadband connections, distance learning, telehealth, and telework, the CARES Act … Continue Reading

Congress Likely to Pursue Legislation in 2020 to Address the Constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board Judges

By Holly Fechner, Matthew Shapanka and Eric Chung on Posted in Congressional Action
The America Invents Act (“AIA”) may be back on Congress’s agenda this year.  Enacted in 2011, the AIA established the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) to adjudicate patentability disputes.  The Board is composed of administrative patent judges (APJs) who are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and removable by either the Secretary or … Continue Reading

Multiple Bipartisan 5G Wireless Bills Advance in Congress

By Holly Fechner, Matthew Shapanka and Judith Foo on Posted in Congressional Action
5G wireless technology has captured the attention of Congress.  At least 30 5G-related bills have been introduced in the House and Senate this Congress, signaling widespread interest by lawmakers in 5G. Several of these bills, addressing a range of issues including national security concerns, the promotion of U.S. leadership in international 5G standards-setting bodies, and … Continue Reading

Bipartisan, Bicameral IDEA Act Seeks to Improve Diversity of Patent Applicants

By Holly Fechner and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action, Intellectual Property Protection
A bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress introduced the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act to ensure that policy makers and researchers have the tools they need to study diversity among inventors holding U.S. patents.  Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced … Continue Reading

Senate Commerce Committee Unanimously Passes Two Bipartisan 5G Bills

By Holly Fechner and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action
Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee held a markup where it unanimously passed two pieces of legislation aimed at improving U.S. fifth-generation wireless network (5G) security measures out of committee: the Secure 5G and Beyond Act (S. 893) and the United States 5G Leadership Act (S. 1625).  These bills—passed as Congress, the Administration, and the … Continue Reading

The Butch Lewis Act Takes Important Step Forward

By Holly Fechner on Posted in Congressional Action
This week, Congress took an important step forward to protect the benefits of retirees in multiemployer pension plans facing insolvency.  On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, the House Committee on Education and Labor marked-up the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act (H.R. 397), better known as the “Butch Lewis Act.”  Among other things, the bill would create … Continue Reading

Senate Committee Holds Hearings on New Bipartisan, Bicameral Proposal to Reform Section 101 of the Patent Act

By Holly Fechner, Ashley Kwon and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action, Intellectual Property Protection
This week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held the first two of a three-part series of hearings on “The State of Patent Eligibility in America.”  The hearings are part of an ongoing bipartisan congressional effort to reform section 101 of the Patent Act to address confusion over patent eligibility wrought by more than … Continue Reading

Workforce Policy Developments in the Trump Administration

By Holly Fechner and Tom Plotkin on Posted in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Employment Law
Last week, the Commerce Department officially named the 25 individuals appointed to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.  This announcement is the latest in a series of steps that the Trump Administration has taken to implement its workforce policy agenda.  With the Advisory Board set to begin work, it is a good time to assess … Continue Reading

USPTO INCREASES FOCUS ON DIVERSITY IN PATENTING WITH NEW REPORT ON WOMEN INVENTORS

By Holly Fechner and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Uncategorized
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Office of the Chief Economist released a new report last week examining women inventor trends in the United States from 1976 to 2016.  The study showed that only 21 percent of U.S. patents granted during that 40-year period include at least one woman listed as an inventor.  Despite … Continue Reading

Will the 116th Congress Improve Retirement Security? Democrats Move to Shore Up Troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans   

By Holly Fechner on Posted in Congressional Action
With the 116th Congress recently underway, some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are making it clear that retirement security is one of their top priorities.  On Wednesday, February 6, 2019, the House Ways & Means Committee will hold one of its first hearings in the new Congress, which will examine an array of retirement security issues … Continue Reading

House Moves to Get “SMART” on the IoT Industry   

By Holly Fechner on Posted in Internet of Things (IoT)
Congress is working to better understand the growing Internet of Things (“IoT”) industry—and soon may be asking industry stakeholders for input.  On Wednesday, November 28, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation designed to provide Congress with greater insights into the inner workings of the IoT industry and to promote collaboration between IoT industry … Continue Reading

2018 Nobel Prize Recognizes Economic Importance of Strong Patent Rights

By Holly Fechner on Posted in Uncategorized
On October 8th, the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Paul Romer, an American economist who has produced foundational work on patent rights and the policies underlying sustainable economic growth. Beginning with his Ph.D dissertation in 1983, Romer’s work has demonstrated that innovation is a product of strong intellectual property rights and investments … Continue Reading

Stronger patents dominate IP agenda in 115th Congress

By Holly Fechner, Bill Wichterman and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action, Intellectual Property Protection, Uncategorized
Patents have been mainstay of the Judiciary Committee agenda in both chambers for more than a decade, but never before has the debate seemed so firmly focused on strengthening patent rights.  Significant patent bills are pending in both chambers, and the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have summoned Andrei Iancu, the new director of the … Continue Reading

Recent Developments in the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans

By Holly Fechner on Posted in Congressional Action, Uncategorized
The solvency crisis bearing down on the multiemployer pension plan system has captured the attention of Capitol Hill.  Since March, the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (the “Committee”) has held a series of hearings examining the multiemployer pension system.  Although it is unclear whether the bipartisan Committee ultimately will agree on … Continue Reading

Recent Developments at the USPTO

By Holly Fechner and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Compliance Issues, Uncategorized
Change is afoot at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  Since Director Andrei Iancu took office in February and declared “creating a new pro-innovation, pro-IP dialogue” a top priority, the agency has experienced a flurry of activity.  Beyond the significant shift in its rhetoric on intellectual property, the USPTO has moved to “increase predictability … Continue Reading

Congressional Review Act Developments

By Holly Fechner and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action
In response to the unprecedented use of the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) by the 115th Congress and the Trump Administration, the Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”), a nonprofit dedicated to wildlife conservation, filed a lawsuit in an Alaska federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Act. The CRA is a statute that requires federal agencies … Continue Reading

Use of the Congressional Review Act in the 115th Congress to Overturn Obama Administration Regulations

By Holly Fechner and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action
In just five short weeks, the 115th Congress will convene in Washington.  Now that Republicans control majorities in both houses and the White House, Republican leaders hope to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn regulations issued by the Obama Administration over the past few months.  According to a recent Congressional Research Service review, … Continue Reading

Senators Introduce VENUE Act as Last Stand on Patent Legislation This Congress

By Holly Fechner, Bill Wichterman and Matthew Shapanka on Posted in Congressional Action, Intellectual Property Protection
As Congress becomes further embroiled in election-year politics, especially a high-stakes standoff between the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee over the President’s nomination to the Supreme Court, it appears ever more likely that 114th Congress will end in December 2016 without passing comprehensive patent legislation.  With the House and Senate patent bills on … Continue Reading
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