In Kwong v. United States, No. 23-267 (Fed. Cl. 11/25/25), the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that certain tax deadlines were automatically postponed for the entire COVID-19 disaster period plus 60 days. As a result, the court found that under the prior version of IRC Sec. 7508A(d), the suspension of underpayment interest and failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties was mandatory from January 20, 2020, through July 10, 2023. The decision invalidated Treasury Regulation Sec. 301.7508A-1(g)(3)(ii) limiting this mandatory postponement to one year. The decision is not affected by a November 2021 amendment to the statute, which was not retroactive. Tax attorney Bill Joseph takes a look at what this decision.

Recent changes at United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are reshaping the dynamics of patent prosecution, creating both opportunities and challenges for patent Applicants. The USPTO has recently implemented the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program and discontinued the Accelerated Examination program, leaving Track One and the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) as the remaining primary options in the US for expedited examination. The USPTO has also restructured examiners’ working conditions, revised or eliminated review procedures, revamped how backlog applications are handled, and introduced a second tier patent examiner position for AI development in an effort to reduce patent pendency. IP attorney Grant Ehrlich and Patent Agent Youngmin Lee take a look at the changes in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently published a proposed rule amending its regulations to require citizen suit notices to be filed electronically. This alert briefly describes the proposed changes, why it matters, and next steps.

A federal court has denied efforts by Google (YouTube), Meta, TicTok, and Snapchat to dismiss claims brought by a Kentucky school district alleging that social media platforms were intentionally designed to harm young users. The ruling allows the case to proceed to trial and represents a significant development in the growing wave of litigation targeting the role of social media in youth mental health. Attorney Thad Barnes takes a look at the case in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.