Bottom Line

• PATENTS. Samsung hired Arnold & Porter, with lobbyists such as former Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas), to push for patent reform. Legislation to institute more changes to the patent system, namely to thwart so-called “trolls,” has been revived in Congress after a failed effort last year. While the tech industry is a major supporter of patent reform, several other industries are deeply involved in the push. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, for example, has hired lobbyists to work on the patent issue, having signed up McKenna, Long & Aldridge to represent its members.

 • BUSINESS. Darden, which owns restaurant brand such as Olive Garden, The Capital Grille and Yardhouse, has hired its third lobby firm to work on “tax reform, menu labeling [and] food safety,” according to disclosure forms. The firm, Dogwood Strategies, has two other clients — Yamaha and Maximus, a government contractor that provides business services to the government. Kristen Gullott leads the firm and formerly worked for Karl Rove in the George W. Bush White House.

{mosads}• HEALTHCARE. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries hired a former vice president at the company, Gary Buehler, as an outside lobbyist. Buehler joined the company in 2010 after serving as the head of the Food and Drug Administration’s generic drug division. Teva is the largest generic drugmaker in the world. Buehler, who worked on regulatory strategic operations for the company, will lobby on “Section 505(b)(2) new drug applications and exclusivity period,” forms say, referring to part of a law that governs applications for new drugs. Drugmakers are given anywhere from three to five years of exclusivity with their product, during which companies cannot apply to bring similar products to the market.

 • ENVIRONMENT. Aronnax Public Strategies signed the conservation group Howling for Wolves as a client amid recent attempts from congressional lawmakers to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. “States are not ready,” the group said on its website. “We have seen that states did not have responsible plans in place when they had authority for wolves.” Language pushed by House and Senate Republicans would delist gray wolves in the Great Lakes region and prohibit the rule from being subjected to judicial review.