The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Aug. 17 upheld its own year-old ruling decision finding parts of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Conflict Minerals Rule to be unconstitutional (here). In response to an SEC request for rehearing, the appeals court continued to hold that the requirement to say if a product is “not DRC conflict free” in company reports and on company websites illegally compels speech in violation of the First Amendment. Under the Conflict Minerals Rule, companies that use tantalum, tin, gold or tungsten that may have originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country must declare their products are not DRC conflict free (see 12082308). Reports for 2015 were due on June 1. The latest guidance from the SEC, issued in the aftermath of the D.C. Circuit’s original ruling in April 2014 that found the regulations unconstitutional (see 14041517), is that companies do not have to identify the products as "DRC conflict undeterminable" or "not found to be DRC conflict free,’’ but should disclose the facilities used to produce the conflict minerals, the country of origin of the minerals and the efforts to determine the mine or location of origin (see 14050226).

A Canadian drug distributor and several of its high-ranking employees face years in prison and at least $78 million in forfeited proceeds from a scheme to smuggle unapproved drugs in to the U.S., according to an indictment unsealed on Aug. 7 by the Montana U.S. District Court. CanadaDrugs.com and its CEO Kristjan Thorkelson, as well as several affiliated companies and their executives and sales managers, are being charged with conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering, with potential prison sentences ranging up to 20 years.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug 10-16:

Bauxite pellets containing additives that are used as proppants in the hydraulic fracking industry are classifiable as bauxite ore, and not as ceramic wares articles, said the Court of International Trade in a July 22 decision that was released publicly on Aug. 12. Over arguments to the contrary from the government, CIT found that dopants added to the bauxite during production to lower the firing temperature and increase the crush resistance of the final product did not change the basic character of the material as bauxite. It also ruled that the resulting products did not have to be used to make metal in order to be classified as an ore.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug 3-9:

A New York Times editorial (here) urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reverse an International Trade Commission ruling preventing the transmission into the country of data found to be infringing on existing patents (see 14040708). The appeals court case, to be heard Aug. 11, pits dental braces alternative manufacturer ClearCorrect against the ITC in its appeal of the commission's decision to prohibit the company from receiving electronic information from its branch in Pakistan. The ITC said the company infringed patents held by industry leader Align Technology, and ruled last year to block data used to determine molds for a patient's orthodontic device being sent electronically from Pakistan to the company's headquarters in Houston. "Because it defines the limits of the commission's authority, Congress should decide whether the changing nature of international trade requires the government to apply the same rules to data that it does to physical goods," the editorial said. "History suggests that it might not be sympathetic to the commission's position." The editorial also said the commission's ruling, if not struck down, "is bound to hamper the exchange of ideas and information on the Internet."

Four men were charged for their involvement in allegedly smuggling counterfeit and falsely labeled pet products into the U.S., said ICE on August 3 (here). The defendants were indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, trafficking in counterfeit labels and smuggling goods into the U.S. "The indictment alleges the defendants smuggled veterinary products into the U.S., that were not manufactured for the U.S. market, for distribution under false labels, including Frontline and Frontline Plus pesticides manufactured by Merial Pharmaceutical Company (Merial)," said ICE. For some of the shipments, the men allegedly claimed that the imported pet products were intended for use by charitable organizations but were instead dispersed to large retail outlets for commercial sale, ICE said. The accused men are Iain Nigel MacKellar of the U.K.; Lam Ngoc Tran of California; Allen Smith of Phoenix; and William Humphreys of California. MacKellar and Tran face additional counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, trafficking in counterfeit labels and smuggling.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 27 - Aug 2:

President Barack Obama tapped a law firm partner, a chief executive officer and an associate justice to fill vacancies at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the White House said on July 30. Obama sent to the Senate nominations for Elizabeth Drake, partner at Stewart and Stewart who specializes in antidumping and countervailing duty law, as well as Jennifer Choe Groves, CEO at Titanium Law Group and Choe Groves Consulting. Choe Groves focuses on trade and intellectual property in her consulting and legal services. Obama also sent forward the nomination for Gary Stephen Katzmann, associate justice on the Massachusetts Appeals Court since 2004. The three nominations aim to fill vacancies left by Richard Eaton, Gregory Wright Carman and Jane Restani.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 20-26: