
Hardware and Semiconductors
The proliferation of technology has resulted in a rapid expansion of both the hardware and semiconductor industries over the last decade. For companies involved in these sectors, it is important to have the counsel of experienced lawyers who have kept up with the technology as well as the legal issues related to those industries.
Our lawyers help clients in these industries navigate a myriad of legal issues providing practical advice tailored to each client’s unique business objectives. They counsel clients through the full product life cycle staring with intellectual property counseling in the early stages of product development and continuing through the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of products.
Our experienced hardware and semiconductor lawyers provide advice regarding:
- Product development and intellectual property protection
- Regulatory and product compliance across jurisdictions
- Supply chain and logistics, including outsourcing of operations
- Acquisition and financing of components
- Drafting and negotiating development, license, manufacturing, resale, distribution, customer and other commercial agreements
- Intellectual property litigation
- Commercial contracts and customer disputes
- Competition issues
- Product recalls and epidemic failures
On 22 December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments (the final rule) to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) to modernize the regulation of investment adviser advertising and solicitation practices.
On 7 January 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed two new rules designed to clarify the scope of incentives that employers may offer employees as part of a wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
Following earlier announcements as to the efficacy of vaccine trials by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Inc. (Pfizer) and Moderna, Inc. on November 20, 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted applications for emergency use authorization to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Last January, policy professionals from our K&L Gates Maritime Group published a long list of their predictions for the year ahead. This year we are coming back with one major prediction:
In the next four years, issues related to climate change will pose the greatest challenges for the domestic maritime industry.