A Shift on Standard-Essential Patent Remedies? DOJ, USPTO, and NIST Issue New...
On December 19, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology...
View ArticleSEC Proposes Updates to Accredited Investor Definition
On December 18, 2019, the SEC voted (3-2) to propose amendments to expand the definition of “accredited investor.” The proposed amendments are intended to update and improve the definition to identify...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: Digital Taxation—Implications for EU Technology Companies
In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Ellen Gilley, an associate in the tax controversy group, is joined by Kat Gregor, a partner in the tax group and co-founder of the tax controversy group, and Rohan...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: CFTC Issues LIBOR Transition Relief for Swaps
In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Isabel Dische and Leigh Fraser discuss the three no-action letters that were published by the CFTC on December 17, 2019 to provide relief to...
View ArticleResource Extraction Payments Disclosure Rules Redux – The SEC Proposes New Rules
On December 18, 2019, the SEC proposed a new Rule 13q-1 under the Exchange Act and related amendments to Form SD. The Proposed Rules would require public companies to annually report on payments made...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: Non-binding Guidance: SEC Disclosure Issues for Life...
The eighth installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series Non-binding Guidance looks at SEC disclosure issues for life sciences companies. In this episode, Ropes & Gray partners Kellie Combs and...
View ArticleSchrems II and Standard Contractual Clauses – the Advocate-General’s Opinion
The Opinion of Advocate-General (AG) Henrik Saugmandsgaardøe in the “Schrems II” case (C-311-18) was delivered on 19 December and will likely leave organisations, which currently rely on EC...
View ArticleKey Takeaways from the First Unilateral Controls Issued Pursuant to the...
On January 6, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) within the U.S. Department of Commerce published an interim final rule (the “Rule”) amending the Export Administration Regulations...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: State Taxation of Digital Health Products
In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Isabelle Farrar, an associate in the tax controversy group, is joined by Elizabeth Smith, counsel in the tax controversy group, and Jennifer Romig, a partner in the...
View ArticleHow the SECURE Act Could Change the Landscape for Retirement Plans and IRAs –...
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the fiscal year 2020 spending bill, which included the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act...
View ArticleDrug Pricing: What Happened in 2019 and What to Watch in 2020
Have you heard that drug prices are too high? If not, you have not been listening to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Alex Azar, or almost any member of Congress....
View ArticleIn a Rare Move, ITC Applies Public Interest Factors to Exempt...
The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) has become a popular venue for patent infringement actions, as it provides for fast and powerful exclusionary remedies against infringers in the form of...
View ArticleCFIUS Issues Final Rules Implementing FIRRMA: Key Changes and Developments
On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released final regulations (the “Final Rules”) to implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”), signed into law by...
View ArticleMLB’s “Sign Stealing” Report Highlights Supervisory Compliance Obligations of...
On January 13, 2020, Major League Baseball published the findings of its investigation into the Houston Astros’ use of electronic equipment to steal signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons (the...
View ArticleNew Year Brings New Responsibilities for Some Asset Managers Who Are Exempt...
With the New Year comes new responsibilities for certain asset managers who are exempt from registration with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) as commodity pool operators...
View ArticleSEC Division of Trading and Markets Issues Interpretive Guidance on...
On January 10, 2020, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets posted on its public website “Frequently Asked Questions on Regulation Best Interest” (the “FAQs”).
View ArticleRopes & Gray’s Derivatives & Commodities Group looks ahead to what is in the...
Ropes & Gray’s Derivatives & Commodities Group looks ahead to what is in the pipeline in Europe for 2020...
View ArticleFTC Announces Increased HSR Thresholds
The Federal Trade Commission has announced revised jurisdictional and filing fee thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“the Act”), as amended. The new thresholds...
View ArticleFTC Announces Revised Thresholds for Interlocking Directorates
The Federal Trade Commission has announced revised thresholds for interlocking directorates required under Section 8 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. § 19(a)(5)). The revised thresholds are effective as...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: ESMA Report: Undue Pressure on Companies
In December 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report in relation to undue short-term pressure on companies. In this Ropes & Gray podcast—the latest in a series...
View ArticleUK Serious Fraud Office Clarifies Its Approach to Compliance Programmes
In the UK, as is the case in other jurisdictions, prosecutors’ assessments of corporate organisations’ compliance arrangements are crucial to whether investigations will be concluded through deferred...
View ArticleUK Sanctions Post-Brexit
One of the many unanswered questions associated with the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on 31 January 2020 is the future use of sanctions as part of the United Kingdom’s foreign...
View ArticleFour Years and Almost $4 Billion: Airbus Corruption Investigations End with...
In the largest and most closely watched corruption enforcement action in history, multinational aerospace company Airbus Group S.E. has managed to make a costly landing after four turbulent years of...
View ArticleUK Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectations of asset managers...
Compliance teams within asset managers and alternative investment firms can expect a busy 2020. In two separate Dear CEO letters both published by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) on 20...
View ArticleFDA Issues Gene Therapy Guidances
In only a few years, gene therapy has begun to transition from concept to reality. By inserting new genetic material into a patient’s cells, gene therapy (GT) products have the potential to change the...
View Article2019 FDA Enforcement Review: Drugs, Biologics, Devices, and Dietary Supplements
The ongoing public health crises of opioid addiction and youth vaping undoubtedly captured significant attention and enforcement resources in 2019, a phenomenon that is unlikely to change as we head...
View ArticleNY State Legislature Considers Extending Mortgage Recording Tax to Mezzanine...
The New York State legislature is considering extending the application of the mortgage recording tax to mezzanine debt financings. The proposed bill would amend the existing mortgage recording tax...
View ArticleThe Financial Conduct Authority Considers Using Assessment as a Tool to...
On Friday 24 January 2020, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“the FCA”) hosted an insightful webinar on “using assessment as a tool to understand culture”. Alison Cottrell, CEO of the Banking...
View ArticleFDA and FTC Announce Collaboration to Promote Biosimilar Competition; FDA...
On February 3, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a collaboration to promote biosimilar competition. The two agencies issued a joint...
View ArticleSEC Proposes Amendments to Modernize MD&A Disclosures and Provides New MD&A...
January appears to have been MD&A month at the SEC. On January 30, the SEC proposed amendments to modernize, simplify, and enhance its Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) disclosure...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: Questions & Concerns About Documentation: A Conversation...
In this Ropes & Gray podcast, finance partner Leonard Klingbaum is joined by Colin Adams, a managing director and senior professional at the investment and advisory firm M-III Partners, to discuss...
View ArticleSome Thoughts on the SEC’s Re-Proposal of Rule 18f-4 and Proposed Sales...
We asked the attorneys in our Asset Management Group to share their views on the SEC’s much-anticipated re-proposal of Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as well as its two new...
View ArticleSEC Proposes Amendments to Modernize Auditor Independence Rule
On December 30, 2019, the SEC issued a release containing proposed amendments to its auditor independence rule, Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. Among other things, the proposed amendments would amend the...
View ArticleIn Focus: 2019 and The Year Ahead
THE VIEW FROM ROPES & GRAY - The breadth of the private capital industry will continue to grow in 2020. The European Private Capital industry showed remarkable resilience in 2019, despite the...
View ArticleTenth Circuit Affirms Demanding False Claims Act Materiality Standard
On February 7, 2020, the Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the defendant in United States ex rel Janssen v Lawrence Memorial Hospital, __ F.3d __ (2020). In holding that the relator had not...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: IP(DC): 5G for the C-Suite: Patent Hold-Up or Hold-Out?
Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, IP(DC), focuses on developments in intellectual property law from the vantage point of Ropes & Gray’s office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. In this...
View ArticleNew York Appellate Court Strikes Down Law Authorizing Interactive Fantasy...
On February 6, 2020, in White v. Cuomo, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department, struck down a New York state law that legalized interactive fantasy sports contests, typically...
View ArticleEU Blacklist – Cayman Islands: Impact for Asset Managers
The Cayman Islands has been placed on the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions as a result of a failure to introduce new laws relating to private funds within the necessary timescale. The...
View ArticleUK’s Data Protection Regulator, the ICO, publishes a revised draft of its...
On 8 January 2018, the Information Commissioner launched a public consultation on a Direct Marketing Code of Practice, which she is required by Section 122 of the Data Protection Act 2018 to produce...
View Article10th Annual Global Fund Finance Symposium
On February 12-14, 2020, the Fund Finance Association held its 10th Annual Global Fund Finance Symposium at which lenders, sponsors, law firms and other market participants from across the globe...
View ArticleProposed Revisions to the Volcker Rule—Prohibitions and Restrictions on...
On January 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and asked for comments on a proposed rule to simplify, streamline and tailor the “covered fund” provisions under...
View ArticleHouse Members Send Letters to FBI, NIH Directors on Possible Racial Profiling...
Over the past few years, as the federal government has firmed its stance against intellectual property theft and foreign interference in scientific research, many in the U.S. research community have...
View ArticleDelaware Court of Chancery Decision Protects Directors from Liability, But...
The recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision in Morrison v. Berry illustrates the protections provided to directors in connection with strategic transactions and the corresponding risks facing...
View ArticleSupreme Court Rules Six Year Statute of Limitations Applies to More ERISA...
On February 26, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the closely watched Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee et al. v. Sulyma case, making it more difficult for employers to...
View ArticleUK Financial Reporting Council confirms commitment to enforcement
As preparations continue for the overhaul of regulatory arrangements relating to corporate reporting in the UK, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) continues to emphasise its high expectations of...
View ArticleFormer Alstom Executive Wins Acquittal of FCPA Counts
On February 26, 2020, a Connecticut federal judge overturned a former Alstom SA executive’s foreign bribery convictions after finding that prosecutors had failed to prove that the defendant was an...
View ArticleCOVID-19 FAQs
The recent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has caused significant disruption to the global economy, and it has the potential to create a lasting impact on the business operations of companies...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: CFIUS Update: Key Takeaways from the FIRRMA Implementing...
In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Ama Adams and Brendan Hanifin discuss new regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”). The new regulations, which took...
View Article[Audio] Podcast: Non-binding Guidance: FDA Regulatory and Patent Implications...
The ninth installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Non-binding Guidance, focuses on changes to the FDA regulation of certain products pursuant to the “Deemed to be a License” provision, also...
View ArticleRevisiting Conflict Minerals Compliance – Developments, Trends and Action...
The seventh year of filings under the U.S. Conflict Minerals Rule will be due in slightly under three months. At most companies, conflict minerals reporting and compliance have been more or less...
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