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The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has finalized a rule increasing the annual limit on accepted requests for prioritized patent examination from 15,000 to 20,000, effective with fiscal year 2025 (FY 2025). This adjustment is intended to accommodate sustained growth in demand for expedited examination while maintaining examination efficiency and pendency.

Welcome to the July 2025 issue of “As the (Customs and Trade) World Turns,” our monthly newsletter where we compile essential updates from the customs and trade world over the past month. We bring you the most recent and significant insights in an accessible format, concluding with our main takeaways — aka “And the Fox Says…” — on what you need to know.

In October 2024, Grizzly Research LLC issued the so-called Grizzly Report, which shared the results from its testing at four different laboratories across the United States, Germany, and China to compare the presence of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in The Hershey Company’s packaging with competitors like Nestlé and Ferrero.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

A recent order from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has brought a somewhat novel legal question to the forefront: Do automobile manufacturers owe municipalities a duty of reasonable care in designing, manufacturing, and distributing vehicles to prevent theft?

On July 8, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS), announced the launch of a Whistleblower Rewards Program. This new initiative is designed to incentivize individuals to report violations of antitrust laws and crimes impacting USPS, its revenue, or its property.

ArentFox Schiff advised Fantasy Life, the award-winning fantasy sports and gaming company, founded by Matthew Berry, the legendary fantasy football personality featured on NBC Sports’ Football Night in America, and the official fantasy tools partner of NBC Sports, in a $7 million seed funding round.

The newly enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill,” formally known as the Legislation for Reconciliation and Policy Reforms 2025, contains a range of provisions that bear unique significance for the District of Columbia.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — budget reconciliation bill signed into law on July 4 — and a new Executive Order (EO) have clarified that solar and wind generation.

ArentFox Schiff LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Government Relations Director Blake K. Thelander to the firm’s Government Relations practice in Washington, DC. Blake joins the firm from the Office of US Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa).

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently clarified the scope of the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA). In Susan Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., the SJC held the MNAA does not apply where a forfeiture clause is triggered by a breach of a non-solicitation agreement.

As the pace of advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) innovations continues to accelerate, companies from various technology and industry sectors are turning to ArentFox Schiff’s Patent group for guidance in protecting their intellectual property (IP) and patenting their cutting-edge AI technologies.

In Law360’s 2025 midyear report, Partner Danielle Bulger was quoted on recent, pivotal copyright rulings by US district courts, including regarding implications of the affirmative defense of fair use in the context of AI model training, and copyright litigation strategy.

The government has announced a renewed and expanded focus on False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement, doubling down on traditional health care priorities like kickbacks and drug pricing while signaling increased scrutiny of Electronic Health Records (EHR) manipulation.

On June 1, Mexico held its first-ever national election to appoint judges from the lowest levels in the judicial hierarchy to the very highest, including the Mexican Supreme Court. In total, the 7,700 judges elected through this process will replace previously appointed judges and will take office on September 1.

In a decision earlier this year, the US Supreme Court held that plaintiffs bringing civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims may be able to recover damages for business or property losses that stem from personal injuries.

On June 25, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a final guidance, “Conducting Remote Regulatory Assessments: Question and Answers.”

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce the head of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Group, Craig Gelfound, has been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA and IP Stars.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 21 practices and 84 attorneys have been recognized by The Legal 500 United States 2025 guide, including three Tier 1 rankings for (1) Chicago Elite – Corporate and M&A Leading Law Firms, (2) Intellectual Property – Patents: Prosecution (Including Re–Examination and Post–Grant Proceedings), and (3) Finance – Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Municipal.

In one of the first substantive decisions analyzing whether the use of copyrighted works to train large language models (LLMs) for generative artificial intelligence (AI) services is infringing or a fair use, Judge William Alsup issued a split decision in his summary judgment order. See Bartz et al. v. Anthropic PBC, No. 3:24-cv-05417 (N.D. Cal. Aug 19, 2024).

ArentFox Schiff represented Robert DiMeo, former operations chief of Honor Finance Corp., in a case involving an alleged fraud scheme with losses exceeding $67 million.

On June 11, the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the release of two General Authorizations, accompanied by additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the January 16 Information and Communication Technology and Services (ICTS) Rule that prohibits the import and sale of connected vehicles and their related hardware/software with a sufficient Chinese or Russian nexus, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain: Connected Vehicles” (the Connected Vehicles Rule).

On June 18, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released for public comment a proposed method for ranking chemicals present in the food supply to determine which should be prioritized for post-market safety assessments.

The District of Columbia is set to implement sweeping changes to its DC Health Care Alliance, a program that has provided vital health coverage to low-income residents who do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, including many non-citizens, since its inception in 2001.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that Phillip Gharabegian and Cheyenne Rodriguez have joined the firm in its Sports Industry Group and Corporate & Securities practice. Phillip joins as a partner and Cheyenne joins as an associate, and both will reside in the firm’s Los Angeles Office. Their additions mark a strategic expansion of the firm’s nationally recognized Sports Industry Group and significantly increases the firm’s depth in media and related matters.