International Trade

Expert Analysis

• Bio-Rad Ruling Highlights IP Assignment Clause Limits

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent holding in Bio-Rad v. International Trade Commission, that an assignment clause wasn’t enough to claim patent ownership where the conception date followed former inventors’ employment, shows companies and workers the importance of specificity in drafting contractual limitations, say Bryan Vogel and Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

• 7 Lessons For Young Lawyers Starting Their Careers

  

  This year's law graduates and other young attorneys must recognize that the practice of law tests and rewards different skills and characteristics than law school, and that what makes a lawyer valuable changes over time, says Vernon Winters, retired partner at Sidley.

• Opinion

  USPTO Refusal To Register Cannabis TMs Hurts Public

  

  The recent uncovering of THC-laced, knock-off candies in Florida illustrates why U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registration of cannabis trademarks would protect the public by providing companies with quality and safety incentives and empowering them to pursue counterfeiters, says Frederic Rocafort at Harris Bricken.

• Lifting US Sanctions On Iran Would Increase Financial Activity

  

  If recent talks for the U.S. to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal pan out, financial activity between formerly sanctioned entities and European counterparties will likely increase, and demand for certain types of legal work may shift, say Kartik Mittal and Stephanie Limaco at Zaiwalla.

• How Gov't FCPA Hiring Practices Theory May Pan Out In Court

  

  In recent settlements with banks, U.S. authorities have taken the position that providing a job or even an unpaid internship to relatives or friends of foreign officials is a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but it is worth assessing how this theory would fare in individual prosecutions, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Opinion

  US Needs Better, Nonpunitive Approach To Greening Trade

  

  Instead of imposing tariffs on goods produced where foreign governments have assisted in cleaning up the environment, the U.S. should make trade policy green by helping industries reduce their environmental impact and encouraging every foreign government to do the same, say Elliot Feldman and Michael Snarr at BakerHostetler.

• Key Takeaways From Recent Changes To TM Laws Abroad

  

  Wendy Cheng and Lauren Ralls at Kilpatrick break down what international trademark developments — such as significant amendments to China's law, the impact of Brexit on U.K. filing programs, enforcement strategies and budgets, and changes in the Mexican examination practice — mean for U.S. brand owners and their counsel.

• What OECD Scrutiny Means For Anti-Corruption In Brazil

  

  Attorneys at Paul Hastings examine how an unprecedented standing subgroup recently created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to monitor Brazil's anti-corruption efforts reflects significant uncertainty regarding the country's commitment to enforcement, and what companies can do to address foreign bribery risk and strengthen compliance programs.

• How SPACs Can Avoid Failed China Reverse Mergers 2.0

  

  As red-hot special purpose acquisition companies hungry for de-SPAC transactions set their sites on Asia, practitioners can look to the failed Chinese reverse mergers of the early 2000s for lessons about regulation, due diligence and misrepresentation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• The International Outlook For US Border Carbon Adjustments

  

  The Biden administration may see enacting a border carbon adjustment system as a good way to advance climate goals and protect domestic industries and jobs, but any such plan must take into account the need to respect existing international trade agreements, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• COVID's Int'l Trade Impact Holds Health Co. Legal Implications

  

  Pandemic-prompted changes to international trade are highlighting novel legal issues related to the health care industry's reliance on an international supply chain, the proliferation of counterfeit supplies, and risks associated with offshoring administrative support, say Brett Johnson and Claudia Stedman at Snell & Wilmer.

• The Domestic Landscape For US Border Carbon Adjustments

  

  With the Biden administration possibly eyeing border carbon adjustments on imported goods as a means to mitigate climate change, attorneys at Akin Gump discuss such policies' potential benefits to domestic businesses, and the political and technical challenges to their enactment in the U.S.

• Economic Sanctions And Export Controls: A Q1 Update

  

  Attorneys at Kirkland discuss first-quarter developments in U.S. export controls and economic sanctions and what they may indicate about the Biden administration's national security and foreign policy agenda. 

• Opinion

  Revise Mansfield Diversity Mandates To Also Benefit Veterans

  

  The well-intentioned efforts and salutary purposes of the legal industry's Mansfield Rule diversity metric are tainted by the Diversity Lab initiative's omission of veterans, who are underrepresented at large law firms and entitled to advantageous treatment based on more than 200 years of public policy, says Robert Redmond at McGuireWoods.