European Sanctions on Iran – Compliance for European Operations
Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.08.08
Recent news reports indicate that the EU is cracking down on small and mid-sized enterprises that are trading with and investing in Iran. There have been no new EU-wide rules since 7 August 2008 when the EU adopted a common position in order to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1803 (2008); however, there is increasing pressure on the EU and its Member States to enforce more stringently the existing UN sanctions as well as propose new measures with a broader scope.
In particular, EU authorities are attempting to target small and mid-sized companies and banks that do not have significant interests in the US and that are trying to fill the gap left by larger companies that have scaled down their Iranian operations.
As larger firms exit Iran, European businesses (and US businesses with European operations) will discover new business opportunities there. Exploring those opportunities, and determining whether they can be lawfully pursued, requires a review of the application of both US and EU law. That review must now take into account increased scrutiny by European authorities.
Contacts
Insights
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
