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GAO Rules that DoD May Not Require a Small Business Joint Venture Itself to Hold Facility Clearance

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.08.21

In InfoPoint LLC, the Government Accountability Office ruled that the Department of Defense could not require a small business joint venture offeror to itself hold a facility clearance when the individual joint venture members themselves both hold the necessary facility clearances.  GAO ruled that the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, implemented in the Small Business Administration’s regulations at 13 C.F.R. § 121.103(h)(4), unambiguously prohibits the DoD from requiring that a joint venture hold a facility clearance if the members do.  Read more about this decision here.

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Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25

Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art

On 4 December 2025, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a landmark judgment in the joined cases C-580/23 (Mio v. Asplund) and C-795/23 (USM v. Konektra) concerning copyright protection for “works of applied art” (i.e., utilitarian objects such as tables, furniture, lighting fixtures, sofas, chairs, kitchen appliances, vases, and fashion items)....