The Week at Ropes & Gray: Oakley Capital Makes a Tech Investment; Podcast on Patent Exhaustion; Managing Sanctions and Export Control Risks; Executive Order on Cybersecurity; Spotlight on Voting Rights

Weekly highlights of what’s happening at Ropes & Gray:

• A London-based deal team from Ropes & Gray advised Oakley Capital Investments on its investment in TechInsights, a technology company offering intellectual property consulting, patent brokerage services and technical analysis to customers that include the top 10 semiconductor companies globally. Private equity partner Helen Croke steered the team.   
• Impression Products v. Lexmark International, a pending Supreme Court case, could impact the doctrine of patent exhaustion, which may affect what companies and consumers do with products they buy. Following oral argument on March 21, three attorneys from Ropes & Gray’s intellectual property practices discuss the background of the case and potential consequences in this new podcast.
• Over the past 15 years, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device companies, and other participants in the life sciences and health care industry have been regular targets of U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions brought by the U.S. government. This article discusses sanctions- and export control-related risks affecting these industries, as well as steps that companies may take to mitigate their exposure. 
• On May 11, President Trump signed an executive order addressing cybersecurity risk management across three key areas: (1) federal government networks, (2) critical infrastructure, and (3) cybersecurity for the nation as a whole. The order aims to jump-start cybersecurity risk management activities within the federal government and establish concrete solutions to the aging federal information technology infrastructure. In this alert, our privacy and data security lawyers examine the president’s mandates, finding that although the order’s requirements are substantial, the reporting deadlines may be too short for conducting meaningful risk assessments and planning activities.
• Finally, in pro bono news, Ropes & Gray and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights teamed up this week to file a lawsuit against the city of Lowell, Mass. alleging that the city’s municipal election system discriminates against minorities. The suit contends that the use of citywide at-large elections for all seats on the Lowell City Council and Lowell School Committee dilutes the voting power of minority voters in Lowell. The firm’s litigation team represents a diverse coalition of Asian-American and Hispanic/Latino residents of Lowell.
• Coming up next week: Tax partner David Saltzman will discuss “Tax Reform Under the Trump Administration: What Practioners Should Expect” at the Boston Bar Association on May 23. David and other panelists will examine the recent, dramatic reforms proposed to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code by the Trump administration and House Republicans, and will provide guidance to help practitioners determine which proposals are likely to have the most significant and immediate impact on their clients. For more information on regulatory and other developments in Washington, please visit our Capital Insights page.