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Wherefore Software In Analyzing Substantial Transformation

Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.10.10

On August 6, 2010, Customs & Border Protection (CBP) published a final determination (75 Fed. Reg. 47609) that Avaya’s Unified Communication Solution was substantially transformed in the United States based upon the totality of the circumstances including installation of the Communication Manager software and the extensive effort at the installation site to integrate the largely foreign hardware components into a working system. CBP rejected Avaya’s assertion that the installation location of software that provides the functionality of a system or hardware could be the sole determinant of substantial transformation under CBP’s prior precedent, as the origin of the software has also been an important factor, and noted here that most of the software development had occurred at Avaya’s Colorado facility, although some ongoing software development now occurs abroad.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded....

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