The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has announced a federal grand jury indictment charging Jon Christopher Burt, Gerald Steven Lavender, and Jack Nelson Purvis Jr. in an alleged bid-rigging conspiracy involving sports equipment contracts for Mississippi public schools. The case is another reminder that criminal antitrust enforcement remains a live risk in public-procurement markets, including transactions that may appear routine or localized.

According to the DOJ’s announcement, the indictment centers on alleged collusion in the sale of sports equipment to school districts. That matters because bid-rigging is treated as a classic per se antitrust offense: prosecutors do not need to prove the conduct’s overall market effect if they can show an agreement among competitors to manipulate the bidding process. In practical terms, this means criminal exposure can arise from communications or arrangements that distort who bids, what price is submitted, or which vendor is supposed to win.

The announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division underscores a point that experienced antitrust practitioners have been tracking for years: the government continues to prioritize procurement fraud and collusion affecting taxpayer-funded entities. Public-school contracting is especially sensitive because alleged overcharges or manipulated bids can directly affect educational budgets, purchasing decisions, and community trust.

For litigators, the indictment is worth watching for what it may reveal about the government’s investigative playbook in smaller regional markets. Criminal antitrust cases often develop through cooperating witnesses, document subpoenas, recorded communications, and parallel scrutiny from procurement officials. Even where the underlying contracts are not massive by national standards, the DOJ has repeatedly shown a willingness to prosecute if it believes the conduct strikes at the integrity of competitive bidding.

For in-house counsel and compliance teams—particularly those advising companies that sell to schools, municipalities, or other public bodies—the case is a fresh reason to revisit antitrust controls around bidding activity. Areas of risk include competitor contacts, dealer-distributor communications, territory understandings, pricing discussions, and informal “courtesy bid” practices. Training should be tailored not just to executives, but also to sales personnel and regional managers who interact with customers and rival firms in the field.

The broader legal significance is straightforward: criminal antitrust enforcement is not limited to headline-grabbing tech or healthcare matters. It also reaches local procurement ecosystems where repeated dealings, long-standing relationships, and informal market customs can create serious exposure. For legal professionals monitoring enforcement trends, this indictment is another data point showing that education-related contracting remains firmly within the DOJ’s criminal antitrust crosshairs.

In a short but useful procedural order, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board granted the patent owner’s unopposed motion to withdraw existing lead counsel and substitute new lead counsel in PGR2025-00086. The order applies 37 C.F.R. § 42.10, the PTAB rule governing counsel recognition and changes in representation, and reflects the Board’s routine but important emphasis on continuity of representation.

Although the ruling does not break new doctrinal ground, it is a practical reminder that PTAB counsel changes are not automatic. A party seeking to replace lead counsel must obtain Board authorization, and the motion should make clear that the party will continue to be represented by qualified counsel, with backup counsel in place as required by the rules. The fact that the motion here was unopposed likely made the result straightforward.

The Board’s reasoning appears procedural rather than substantive: because the patent owner requested withdrawal and substitution, and because no party opposed the request, the Board found good cause to grant it under the governing regulation. These orders typically turn on whether the request preserves orderly case management and avoids prejudice to the opposing party or disruption to the schedule. In other words, the Board is generally receptive to counsel substitutions so long as the case remains staffed appropriately and deadlines are not jeopardized.

For practitioners, the significance is less about precedent and more about PTAB practice discipline. First, if lead counsel needs to exit, parties should move promptly and ensure replacement counsel is properly identified and eligible to serve. Second, securing the other side’s non-opposition can materially smooth the path to relief. Third, even seemingly ministerial changes should be handled carefully in a fast-moving AIA proceeding, where missed deadlines and administrative missteps can have outsized consequences.

This order does not appear to change existing law or establish a new standard. Instead, it reinforces the Board’s established approach: counsel substitutions will generally be allowed when the request complies with § 42.10, the opposing party does not object, and the transition does not threaten efficient adjudication. For counsel managing PTAB matters, that is a useful operational takeaway—particularly in post-grant review proceedings, where strategic and staffing changes often occur under compressed timelines.

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Microsoft Corporation has filed a new inter partes review petition against QOMPLX LLC at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, opening a fresh front in what could become an important dispute over patent validity and competitive positioning. The case, Microsoft Corporation v. Qomplx LLC, was filed on April 7, 2026, and is docketed as IPR2026-00325.

At this stage, the PTAB docket reflects the filing of the petition, with Microsoft as petitioner and QOMPLX as patent owner. The filing signals that Microsoft is asking the Board to review and potentially cancel one or more claims of a QOMPLX patent on prior-art grounds permitted under inter partes review—typically anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and/or obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 based on patents and printed publications. As is often the case in newly filed IPRs, the specific patent number, challenged claims, and asserted references will be central details for practitioners to watch as the record develops.

For patent owners and petitioners alike, the early phase of this proceeding matters. Microsoft’s petition will need to lay out a precise claim construction theory, identify the prior art with particularity, and explain why a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found the challenged claims unpatentable. QOMPLX, in turn, will have the opportunity to file a preliminary response aimed at defeating institution by attacking the merits, the petitioner’s evidentiary showing, or any procedural defects.

Why should IP counsel follow this case? First, PTAB challenges involving major technology companies often provide a useful preview of broader enforcement or licensing strategies. An IPR filing can be a defensive move against district court litigation, a pressure point in licensing negotiations, or part of a longer-term portfolio strategy. Second, the institution decision may offer insight into how the Board is treating the claimed technology area, especially if the patent involves software, analytics, cybersecurity, or enterprise systems—areas where both Microsoft and QOMPLX have significant business interests. Third, this proceeding may become a useful study in petition drafting, expert support, and discretionary institution arguments depending on whether there are parallel district court actions.

Practitioners should watch for the petition papers, any related litigation disclosures, the patent owner’s preliminary response, and ultimately whether the PTAB institutes review. Those filings will determine whether this is a routine validity challenge or a more consequential contest over a strategically important patent asset.

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