Domestic Preferences – CBP Says (Again) More Than Software Download Needed to Effect a Substantial Transformation under the Trade Agreements Act
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.16.15
In a final determination published today, Customs and Border Protection ruled that the last "substantial transformation" (and, hence, the country of origin) of a laptop occurred in a country not "designated" under the Trade Agreements Act when the "base unit" was assembled from principal components (e.g., the CPU and BIOS chip) which were also manufactured in that "non-designated country." Subsequent "download" (which CBP distinguishes from "programming") in a country "designated" under the TAA of critical software necessary for the laptop to function as a computer (e.g.,the BIOS and the Operating System, both of "designated country" origin) were insufficient to substantially transform the laptop and shift the country of origin to the "designated country" and permit sale under GSA Schedule and contracts subject to the TAA.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
