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DoD Opens Dialogue With Industry on Open-Source Software

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.07.11

Pursuant to a December 5 notice, DoD is hosting a public meeting on January 12, 2012, to obtain input from industry on the use of open-source software in its contracts.  DoD seeks to initiate dialogue in three main areas: (1) risks of copyright infringement liability for the Government and contractors who use or deliver open-source software and when that software includes proprietary or copyrighted material, (2) performance and warranty deficiencies faced by contractors when delivered open-source software does not meet contract requirements, and (3) whether the DFARS should be revised to delineate the Government’s rights when a contractor acquires open-source software for the Government.

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Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

D.C. Circuit Upholds Designation of PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA Hazardous Substances

In a significant and unanimous ruling, the D.C. Circuit upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), denying the petitions of seven industry groups seeking to overturn that designation.[1] CERCLA, also known as the “Superfund Statute,” allows EPA to require potentially responsible parties to fund cleanup of hazardous substances....