International Trade

March 27, 2025
Mercedes Scores USPTO Review Of PTAB Loss

The acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director wants a review of an administrative patent board ruling that rejected Mercedes-Benz's efforts to invalidate a processor patent issued over a decade ago to engineers at Intel and later assigned to a company that's asserting it against automakers and others.
March 27, 2025
Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm Owner Can't Shake SEC's Claim

A New York federal judge has declined to toss claims brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against an investment firm owner who allegedly managed a Russian oligarch's wealth in America without ever registering with the SEC as required.
March 27, 2025
German Paper Co. Can't Dodge $268M Duty Evasion Suit

A German paper producer once again failed to escape nearly $270 million in unpaid duties and interest Thursday when the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the company's various corporate mutations do not remove it from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.
March 27, 2025
Meta Gets Stiff-Armed On FuriosaAI Offer, And More Rumors

In a bold move that underscores the growing confidence and independence of artificial intelligence startups, FuriosaAI reportedly rejected an $800 million acquisition offer from Meta. Nvidia is also on the verge of acquiring Lepton AI, and Apollo is mulling a sale of Cox Media. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
March 27, 2025
UK Industry Groups Raise Alarm Over US Tariff Threat

The Labour government must secure a trade deal with the U.S. government soon to prevent new tariffs hitting the British car industry in early April, industry groups warned Thursday.
March 27, 2025
FCPA 'Purgatory' Frustrates White Collar Bar, Anxious Clients

An abrupt pause in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement has created tension between clients eager to resolve investigations and their attorneys, who are having trouble reaching decision-makers at the U.S. Department of Justice and are more inclined to await further guidance from the government.
March 27, 2025
Russian Pol's Wife Says Sanctions Breach Allegation 'Fantasy'

The wife of a former Russian politician said Thursday during her London trial for allegedly breaching sanctions against her husband that she did not know at the time that the U.K. and EU had separate sanctions regimes.
March 26, 2025
Trump Sets 25% Tariffs On Imported Cars And Parts

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his intention to impose a 25% tariff on cars and car parts imported into the United States, continuing a trend of sweeping, aggressive trade actions that have defined his first two months in office.
March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
March 26, 2025
Supreme Court Skeptical Of Nixing FCC Subsidy Fund

Conservative justices took aim Wednesday at rising costs in the country's multibillion-dollar phone and broadband subsidy system, questioning whether lawmakers put meaningful limits on the program's growth, but some argued the fund works just like others created by Congress that rely on revenues from industry fees.
March 26, 2025
Judge Newman Maintains Fitness Probe Must Be Transferred

Counsel for suspended 97-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman on Wednesday told the D.C. Circuit that its decision to transfer ethics complaints against a senior district court judge, lodged by his own colleagues, supported her contention that her fellow circuit judges shouldn't investigate her fitness to remain on the bench.
March 26, 2025
Mars Risk Exec Caught With Hand In Cookie Jar, Feds Allege

A former Mars Inc. subsidiary global price risk manager pled not guilty in Connecticut federal court Wednesday to multiple criminal charges alleging that he defrauded his employer out of more than $28 million to fund his lifestyle, including a $2.3 million Greenwich home and a ranch in Argentina.
March 26, 2025
EU Import System Fails To Prevent VAT Fraud, Report Says

The European Union's simplified import customs procedures do not do enough to identify and prevent value-added tax fraud because of loopholes and inconsistencies, an EU watchdog said, also pointing out that various bloc members' oversight of such procedures was lacking.
March 26, 2025
$1.1M Contract Cut Settles Foreign Vessel Row, Board Says

After determining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could reduce a $48 million Bahrain pier replacement contract due to a contractor tapping a foreign-flagged ship to haul materials, a military contract board agreed with the government that $1.1 million was an appropriate reduction.
March 26, 2025
13 Arrested In Connection With €100M VAT Fraud Scheme

The Italian Financial Police arrested 13 people suspected of conducting a large-scale, complex criminal operation involving the sale of plastic products that resulted in the evasion of roughly €100 million ($107.5 million) in value-added taxes, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said.
March 26, 2025
Ex-GE Exec Gets 7 Years For Fraud In $1B Angola Energy Deal

A Manhattan federal judge hit a former GE Power executive with seven years in prison Wednesday, after a jury convicted him of forgery and taking a $5 million kickback while working on a $1.1 billion deal in his native Angola.
March 25, 2025
Nigeria Drops Supreme Court Challenge On $70M Award

Nigeria has agreed to abandon its effort to overturn a D.C. Circuit ruling nixing its sovereign immunity defense in litigation to enforce a $70 million arbitration award to a Chinese company that was forcibly booted from a free trade zone it had developed near the city of Lagos.
March 25, 2025
PTAB Leader Explains Denial Policy After Withdrawn Memo

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's chief judge has provided guidance to the board's other members on how to decide whether to use discretion to deny review of patents based on related litigation, after a previous memo on the issue was withdrawn last month.
March 25, 2025
Baltimore Bridge Collapse: One Year Later

Federal accident investigators' recent determination that Maryland could've done more to protect Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge from a devastating collapse may complicate the sprawling legal battle over liability and damages in the year since a cargo ship struck the bridge and crippled a major East Coast transportation hub.
March 25, 2025
Tariffs, Economic Concerns Bring Record Q1 Deals Lull

U.S. deal transaction numbers plummeted in the first quarter of 2025 to the lowest levels seen since the financial crisis, driven by volatile trade policies and rising geopolitical tensions, but a March bump provided hope for an upswing, according to a Tuesday report from Mergermarket.
March 25, 2025
ITC, Chinese Co. Urge Justices To Skip Coke Sweetener Case

A Chinese company and the U.S. International Trade Commission are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a case from the company that developed the artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero and that wants to keep patents that were filed at the patent office after the drinks went on sale.
March 25, 2025
Sterlington Adds M&A Expert With 'A-List' Accolades

When Lawrence Waks led the billion-dollar sale of Casamigos Tequila back in 2017, it was a game-changing moment that would reshape his legal career.
March 25, 2025
Doctor Defends Exam Saying Judge Newman Is Fit To Serve

A neurosurgeon who examined Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman and declared her fit to serve on the bench pushed back Tuesday on criticism of his evaluation made by doctors retained by the appeals court's other judges, who have suspended the 97-year-old jurist.
March 24, 2025
'Enough Is Enough': Tornado Cash Users Demand Judgment

Challengers to the Treasury Department's now-dissolved sanctions of crypto mixer Tornado Cash on Monday urged a Texas federal judge to make clear that the designation was unlawful despite the government's claims that the case is moot now that it has removed Tornado Cash from its blocked persons list.
March 24, 2025
Apple, Sony, Others Facing ITC Probes Over Imports

The U.S. International Trade Commission has said it is launching a series of investigations into whether imports of products such as video game consoles, nose cleaning devices and semiconductors have infringed various U.S. patents.

Expert Analysis

5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
3 Noteworthy Effects Of The 2025 NDAA

The 2025 defense budget includes further restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei, requiring companies to rethink customer-base oversight, but other provisions are likely to broaden procurement contract opportunities, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
Proactively Managing Tariff Impacts On Megaprojects

President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs may compound the complexity, duration and risks associated with financing and building large-scale infrastructure projects — so owners and contractors should plan to take possible tariff-related cost and schedule overruns into account when drafting contracts, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
US-China Deal Considerations Amid Cross-Border Uncertainty

With China seemingly set to respond to the incoming U.S. administration's call for strategic decoupling and tariffs, companies on both sides of the Pacific should explore deals and internal changes to mitigate risks and overcome hurdles to their strategic plans, say attorneys at Covington.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
Nippon, US Steel Face Long Odds On Merger Challenge

Following the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' review of Japan's Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, the companies face a formidable uphill battle in challenging the president's exercise of authority to block the deal on national security grounds, say attorneys at Kirkland.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
Patent Policy Changes To Track Under New Gov't Leadership

The new federal government will likely bring pivotal shifts in U.S. patent policy through legislation and initiatives that reflect a renewed focus on strengthening intellectual property rights, fostering innovation and enhancing the nation's competitive edge, says PK Chakrabarti at Butzel Long.
5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.
A Deep Dive Into DOJ's Proposed FARA Shake-Up

The U.S. Department of Justice's recently published and long-awaited proposed amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act's implementing regulations, if adopted, would mark dramatic changes to the commercial exemption and new requirements for labeling informational materials, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.
Preparing For Mexican Drug Cartels' Terrorist Designation

In the event President-elect Donald Trump designates Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, businesses will need to consider how their particular industry is affected and evaluate previously legitimate practices given the cartels' involvement so many sectors of the economy, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Anticipating The Maritime Sector's Future Under Trump 2.0

With the Republicans taking control of a governance trifecta, the maritime sector should brace for both familiar leadership and new change that could significantly shift shipping and defense priorities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.