Law360, New York (February 20, 2014, 4:12 PM EST) -- To obtain a felony conviction under the Arms Export Control Act for "willfully" exporting "defense articles" without a license, must the government prove that the defendant knew the items in question were specifically subject to federal regulation? The answer, according to the Fourth Circuit court of appeals, is "no" —– defendants can be liable for criminal violations of the AECA — and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations — even without specific knowledge that an item is regulated as a defense article. This holding lowers the threshold for the government to prove criminal violations of ITAR and increases compliance risks for U.S. and foreign companies....