Software Application Insufficient to Substantially Transform Existing Hardware Components Into a Visitor Management System
Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.19.17
In a Final Determination published in the Federal Register today, Customs & Border Protection held that application software installed on existing computers and on an ID scanner manufactured in China did not substantially transform the individual elements (IS scanner, labels, printer and barcode scanner) of the Visitor Management System. The scanners and printers functioned as such when imported, and the software, while defining a specific use, did not change the basic function of the hardware. Although the FAR contemplates that an “end product” offered under a TAA-covered contract should have a single country of origin, the CBP found each element of the VMS retained its individual country of origin, two of which were from China, a non-designated country.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
