We frequently utilize the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) as a tool for our clients. The FOIA, subject to several exceptions and exclusions, generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal...more
On July 10, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed significantly increasing the reporting threshold requiring the filing of a Form 13F to $3.5 billion, a 35-fold increase from the current threshold....more
Parties not wishing to have agreements unrelated to the settlement made of record before the PTAB should not refer to those agreements in the PTAB settlement agreement. Any agreement referenced in a settlement agreement...more
In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Food Marketing Institute. v. Argus Leader Media. The case marked the Court’s first chance to address an important question: When can (or cannot) the federal government withhold...more
Businesses often worry that the information they provide to the government will be disclosed, and with good reason – such information is presumptively available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently issued guidance defining the types of information that qualify as “confidential” under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). This guidance follows the Supreme...more
On Oct. 4, 2019, the DOJ issued guidance for determining whether commercial or financial information provided by a person or company is “confidential” under FOIA Exemption 4. When preparing reverse-FOIA submissions, a...more
The Supreme Court’s June decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media has made it easier for federal entities to resist certain Freedom of Information Act requests for confidential business information that the...more
Rejecting a standard that had governed lower courts for 45 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it easier for federal agencies to protect companies’ commercial information from public disclosure under the Freedom of...more
The Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA” or “the Act”) provides private citizens access to information in the possession of government agencies that is not otherwise publicly available. Unfortunately, an agency’s disclosure can...more
On 20 June 2019 the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final interim rule (effective on 21 June 2019) amending its reporting, procedures, and penalties regulations, 31 Code of Federal...more
At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) decision that decreases the burden on contractors seeking to protect confidential information. As most contractors are aware,...more
In its recent decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media d/b/a Argus Leader, No. 18-481, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a decades-old legal standard for companies that wish to shield their business...more
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule June 26, 2019, revising the agency’s Freedom of Information Act regulations. According to EPA, those regulations, last updated in 2002, required revision to comply with...more
As discussed in our prior alert, employers are now required to submit additional information to supplement EEO-1 reports. The deadline to submit this new information – which will include employee pay data (referred to by the...more
Supreme Court Upends Half-Century Standard for Handling Confidential Commercial Information Under the Freedom of Information Act - Businesses that provide sensitive commercial or financial information to the federal...more
In a significant decision for Government contractors, the Supreme Court has expanded the types of “commercial or financial information” that are “confidential,” and therefore exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of...more
During the previous quarter, the SEC proposed new rulemaking to reduce the number of smaller companies that become subject to enhanced reporting requirements through “accelerated filer” and “large accelerated filer” status....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media and resolved fractured circuit splits about the parameters for when the government may withhold...more
As usual, the last month of the Supreme Court’s term generated significant rulings on all manner of cases, possibly presaging the new directions the Court will be taking in administrative and regulatory law....more
The Supreme Court in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, No. 18-481 (U.S. June 24, 2019) recently relaxed the standard for withholding confidential information under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act...more
Although patentees generally do not have great concerns about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's secrecy requirements, they may lose control over their information under...more
In Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, the US Supreme Court held that private sector commercial information in the federal government’s possession may be withheld from public release without a showing that the...more
On June 24, the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, expanding the scope of information protected under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA establishes...more
Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, 2019 WL 2570624, 588 U.S. - - - (June 24, 2019) (“FMI”), it made confidential commercial and financial information provided to the U.S. government by private parties subject to...more