Unauthorized IP in Your Supply Chain

About the Course:

Intellectual Property is proliferating. Supply chains are elongating. Outsourcing is diffusing. Anti-infringement compliance is withering. Government and regulatory oversight is rising.

Do these elements forebode a surge in IP-Supply Chain litigation?

Even if your company is unaware of the use of unauthorized IP by your suppliers, your firm can still find itself legally liable and suffer reputational damage for its channel partners’ IP violations. In the event of supplier misappropriation, damage awards to IP-holders could be required and fines and penalties could be assessed against end-product manufacturers and retailers. Further, IP violations anywhere throughout the supply chain could result in severe supply chain disruptions and import restrictions.

The unique webinar discusses issues such as:

• The points in supply chains most vulnerable to assertion.
• The extent to which insurance exists for unauthorized IP in a supply chain.
• The ability to receive indemnities from a foreign outsourcer.
• The parallels between unauthorized IP in supply chains and the monitoring of conflict minerals in supply chains required by Dodd Frank.
• Which steps State Attorneys General are taking to combat unauthorized IP in supply chains.
• The nature of audits that may be conducted to police unauthorized IP in supply chains.
• The extent to which directors may be liable for failure to implement appropriate compliance programs.
• The circumstances under which import restrictions could be triggered.
• The states that are most vigilant in terms of pursuing claims of unauthorized IP in supply chains.
• The use of trade secret laws to thwart the use of unauthorized IP in supply chains.
• Measures to be taken to reduce risks of harboring unauthorized IP in the supply chain.
• Action to take when unauthorized IP is detected in supply chains.

The following are among the pieces of legislation and regulations addressed during the webinar:

• The Economic Espionage Act
• Deter Cyber Theft Act
• Section 337 of the Tariff Act
• Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act
• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• National Stolen Property Act
• Federal Wire Fraud Statute
• Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Laws

Course Leaders:

Arthur Mitchell, Senior Counselor, White & Case LLP Mr. Mitchell has over thirty-eight years of experience, much of it in Asia and is one of the leading American lawyers specializing in investment and financing transactions around the world.

Prior to joining White & Case in September 2007, Mr. Mitchell was General Counsel of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He became General Counsel of the ADB in 2003 and supervised all aspects of legal advice given with respect to documentation of public sector and private sector loan transactions, equity investments, political risk guarantees and bond financings. Mr. Mitchell managed an office comprised of 42 attorneys from 18 countries and was responsible for compliance with Bank policies and procedures. He advised the President and the Board of Directors on corporate governance, institutional and administrative matters, and all litigation involving the bank.

Seiji Niwa, Associate, White & Case LLP

Seiji Niwa is an associate in White & Case’s Global Competition and Commercial Litigation practice groups. He concentrates on complex commercial litigation and antitrust litigation and counseling. He has worked on both civil and criminal antitrust issues, and has substantial experience with multi-jurisdictional cartel matters and in counseling trade associations. Mr. Niwa also has experience with securities fraud and bankruptcy litigation, and has conducted a number of compliance reviews pursuant to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He has represented clients in the financial services, pharmaceutical and display technologies industries, among others. In 2008, he was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Roslynn R. Mauskopf of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Prior to joining White & Case, he worked for the United Nations.

Course Length: Approx. 1.5 hours

$295 PER USER