Helping Us Help You: DDTC Modernizes ITAR Exemption for Contractor’s Supporting Government Agencies
Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.22.19
On April 19, 2019, nearly four years after the initial proposal, DDTC issued a final rule modifying § 126.4 of the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) to clarify and expand the exemption authorizing exports in support of the US Government, including US foreign assistance and cooperative programs. Most significantly, the revised exemption acknowledges the government’s expanded use of contractor personnel in supporting USG missions often involving foreign parties. The exemption now expressly covers defense services and other exports by “persons or entities in a contractual relationship with the U.S. Government” where use of the defense article or performance of the defense service is within the scope of such contract and where any one of three specified conditions exist and assure government control and oversight of the transfer.
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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

