Crystal Saleh

ITAR Update – The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has published its latest regulatory agenda listing its intended revisions to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the U.S. Munitions List. Please see the firm's latest article summarizing those regulatory proposals and revisions that may take place in 2024. https://lnkd.in/e9uViptJ #itar #exportcontrols #ddtc #usml #defensetrade

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Big news from the USPTO -- the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (#AFCP 2.0) ends December 15, 2024. The decision comes after feedback on a proposed fee to offset program costs revealed limited public support. With AFCP 2.0 ending, in-house counsel should consider updating instructions to outside counsel to: - Ensure examiner interviews are conducted whenever permitted in response to final Office actions; -Emphasize clear, concise claim amendments to facilitate examiner consideration; - Review Advisory Actions carefully for considering second amendments after final filed with RCEs when new substantive rejections are identified in the Advisory Action; - Explore alternative strategies like appeals and pre-appeal brief conferences, informed by examiner analytics data, in response to final Office Actions. The termination of AFCP 2.0 marks a significant change in patent prosecution strategy. In-house counsel should work closely with outside counsel to adapt and ensure efficient patent prosecution in this new landscape.

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#ICYMI: Last week, USD(A&S) LaPlante chaired the 11th meeting of National Armaments Directors under the auspices of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG): https://lnkd.in/eN6XJJSG "We're all seeing how urgent the situation in Ukraine has become, and as Secretary Austin emphasized at the recent session of the NATO-Ukraine Council, we must continue to push for immediate, concerted action on Ukraine's priority requirements," he said. "The National Armaments Directors are uniquely positioned to operationalize the guidance set forth by the UDCG at the ministerial level, and we are not — and cannot — let our foot off the gas." Discussion focused on the sustainment of forces and systems already donated to Ukraine, delivering on capability commitments made by nations, and increasing production capacity worldwide — such as the recent co-production venture for Patriot GEM-T missiles in Germany.  Austin established the UDCG in 2022 to ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities that it needs to defend its people from Russian aggression and take back its sovereign territory. Together, UDCG nations have committed more than $89 billion in total security assistance to Ukraine. The group is convening this morning for the 21st time. #SucceedThroughTeamwork

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Vice President of Kansas Company Pleads Guilty to Crimes Related to Scheme to Illegally Export U.S. Avionics Equipment to Russia and Russian End Users. https://lnkd.in/eYGW5Ak9 #UKSanctions #Russia #EUCommission #ExportControl #TradeWar #TSECS #SanctionsUpdate #TurkishSociety #Sanctions #USA #OFAC #BIS #TradeUpdates #GlobalTrade #TradeCompliance #InternationalRelations #EconomicSanctions #TradeRegulations #TurkishExports #TradePolicy #SecurityMatters #ForeignPolicy #ComplianceNews #EconomicSecurity #CrossBorderBusiness

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken significant action by designating six senior Hamas officials under Executive Order 13224, as amended, for their roles in facilitating terrorist activities, fundraising, and weapons smuggling into Gaza. This marks OFAC's ninth sanctions tranche against Hamas and its supporters since October 7, 2023. Key individuals targeted include: Abd al-Rahman Ismail Abd al-Rahman Ghanimat, based in Türkiye, a longtime member of Hamas’s military wing, responsible for terrorist attacks, including the 1997 Tel Aviv bombing. Musa Daud Muhammad Akari, a senior Hamas official in Türkiye, involved in facilitating funds for Hamas operations in Gaza and the West Bank. Salama Mari, also based in Türkiye, known for financial facilitation and a history of involvement in deadly attacks. Mohammad Nazzal, a senior leader representing Hamas internationally, active in its Council on International Relations. Basem Naim, based in Gaza, instrumental in Hamas’s international engagements, including with Russia. Ghazi Hamad, a Gaza-based leader with public-facing roles and involvement in smuggling operations supporting Hamas's military activities. These actions align with OFAC’s broader efforts to disrupt Hamas’s financial networks and operational capabilities. The U.S. government has worked closely with partners like the United Kingdom and Australia, conducting joint sanctions actions targeting Hamas leaders, financiers, and affiliated entities. Sanctions Implications: As a result of these designations, all U.S.-based assets of these individuals, or assets controlled by U.S. persons, are blocked. Transactions involving these individuals are prohibited unless specifically authorized by OFAC. These sanctions emphasize the U.S.’s commitment to countering terrorism financing and holding accountable those who support Hamas’s destabilizing activities. For detailed compliance guidelines, businesses and individuals are urged to consult OFAC’s enforcement and compliance resources. #TürkiyeTradeCompliance #ExportControlTürkiye #TurkeySanctionsUpdate #USATradeSanctions #OFACRegulations #TurkishExports #EconomicSanctions #TradeComplianceTürkiye #GlobalTradeCompliance #EUTradeRelations #TurkishEconomy2024 #SanctionsCompliance #EconomicSecurityTürkiye #TradePolicyTürkiye #GlobalSanctionsNews

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CISS Opinion | On December 18, 2024, the U.S. sanctioned Pakistan’s ballistic missile program under EO 13382, targeting four entities, including the state-owned NDC. This move, ignoring India’s destabilizing missile advancements like Agni-V and hypersonic vehicles, exacerbates Pakistan’s strategic anxieties amid growing U.S.-India defense ties. The sanctions risk straining U.S.-Pakistan relations, despite Pakistan’s counterterrorism contributions, and may push Pakistan closer to its strategic ally, China. Authors: Moiz Khan and Syeda Saba Batool Read More: https://lnkd.in/dwWg6Azv #USSanctions #Pakistan #SouthAsia #usa #StrategicStability #RegionalSecurity #Geopolitics #china

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ITAR Update – The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has published a proposed rule to implement an AUKUS-related licensing exemption and an expedited review process. Please see my latest article summarizing the three proposed changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations in this rulemaking. https://lnkd.in/guna4Kkt #itar #exportcontrols #ddtc #aukus #defensetrade

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The U.S. Department of State has announced a broad exemption from export licensing requirements for most defense trade between and among “authorized users” in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, thereby issuing much-anticipated export control relief in implementation of the trilateral AUKUS security pact. Anthony Rapa,Justin A. Chiarodo, and Patrick Collins offer five key takeaways on this capstone of the U.S. government’s implementation of AUKUS in this new alert. Read here: bit.ly/3Xa85G2 #AUKUS #exportlicensing #exportcontrol #internationaltrade

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🚨 Border Security Technology Tops DHS R&D Priorities 🚨 Border security has become a critical focus for the #Biden Administration, shaping to be a major issue in the upcoming presidential election. This political priority directly influences where the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directs its research and development (R&D) investments. For investors and innovators in national security technology, the implications are clear: follow the money. DHS’s R&D dollars are setting the stage for which companies will emerge as industry leaders in the near future. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gciYFpXp Anduril Industries Brian Schimpf Skydio Adam Bry Enabled Intelligence, Inc Peter Kant #BorderSecurity #Innovation #InvestmentTrends #DHS #NationalSecurity #TechInvesting #USA #HomelandSecurity #DepartmentofHomenlandSecurity #security #researchanddevelopement #research #development #technology #tech #investors

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This week’s Hatch Report is out- https://lnkd.in/eBntuzND // Selected highlights below 👇 1️⃣ DIU Solicitation: AI-Enabled Diligence Evaluation (AIDE) Seeks an AI/LLM-driven due diligence platform (or service) to quickly process and analyze large volumes of unstructured business and financial data. The platform should present insights on a smart dashboard. Submission Deadline: 21 January. 2️⃣ Army LASSO Prototype Architecture Seeking industry feedback on the Draft CUI SOO before the formal release of the Architecture RFP. Vendors must demonstrate the ability to implement a MOSA within LASSO, ensuring key interfaces can support future upgrades and capability enhancements. Submission Deadline: 30 January. 3️⃣ Project COOKSON: UK’s Fast Attack Drone Boat for Ukraine Seeking proposals for an autonomous, low-observable vessel capable of operating in GNSS-denied or degraded environments. Of note, the vessel must feature a hard-kill air defense capability to counter drones and rotary-wing aircraft. Challenge Session: 22 January in London (Register by 16 January). 4️⃣ DARPA HyBRIDS (Cyberpunk 2077 vibes) This program aims to create biohybrid robots that fuse biological components with synthetic systems. Submission Deadline: 7 April. 5️⃣ AFRL Sensors Directorate Industry Day This classified event will showcase two programs: MAINSAIL, which aims to improve maritime domain awareness through machine learning, and ATOMATA, which focuses on air combat identification with distributed sensor fusion. Event Date: 11-12 February at Wright-Patterson AFB. 6️⃣ Flying Lion Inc. Drone-as-First-Responder Milestone (DFR) With over 55,700 missions completed, the DFR concept aims to dramatically enhance first responders' situational awareness before they arrive on the scene. 7️⃣ Streamlining Ammo Management: ONE’s NEO Platform Secures $40M USMC Contract ONE's NEO platform supports the Ordnance Information System-Marine Corps (OIS-MC) and Marine Ammunition Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) by providing cradle-to-grave total asset visibility. Due to its proprietary source code, NEO is the only software compatible with the existing OIS-MC infrastructure. 8️⃣ Oshkosh Defense Secures $19M Contract for Expeditionary Fires Carriers The platform is an unmanned adaptation of Oshkosh’s JLTV, modified to serve as a ground-based anti-ship missile launch system. 9️⃣ STR Secures $9.6M Contract Mod for DARPA JAWS Program STR will support the ongoing development of a theater-wide battle management system to improve kill web efficiency in contested environments. Phase Four efforts will focus on orchestration services, predictive analytics, and user interfaces. The contract value now totals $44M. 📩 The full Substack includes additional content, insights, and hyperlinks. Be sure to like & subscribe to get these updates delivered straight to your inbox every week!

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Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the financial networks sustaining the Houthi movement in Yemen, designating 12 individuals and entities across multiple jurisdictions. The action focuses on a web of arms traffickers, financial operatives, shipping facilitators, and smuggling networks that enable the Houthis to fund and sustain their destabilizing regional activities. Five cryptocurrency wallets linked to the network have been identified and added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), highlighting the evolving tactics employed by the Houthis and their affiliates to exploit digital currencies. According to TRM Labs, collectively, these designated addresses received over USD 330 million in total inflows. Additionally, TRM noted these addresses used a wide variety of services, both centralized and decentralized, in order to facilitate some of their transactional activity. These financial and logistical networks sanctioned today directly support the Houthis’ destabilizing activities in Yemen and beyond. The Houthis have continued to wage a brutal campaign involving missile strikes, drone attacks, and regional destabilization efforts, often targeting civilian infrastructure and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Just this week, the United States conducted an airstrike on a Houthi command-and-control facility in Yemen, following heightened Houthi attacks on international shipping vessels in the Red Sea. By targeting key individuals, financial facilitators, and logistical operatives, OFAC aims to sever the financial lifelines that sustain the Houthis’ military and political ambitions. The designation of cryptocurrency wallets, money service businesses, and international shipping firms underscores the global reach of these networks and the importance of international collaboration in combating them. The involvement of Malaysia-based entities in facilitating the illicit oil trade further demonstrates the need for vigilance in regulating global shipping and financial systems. 📄 Read TRM's full blogpost on today's designation here: https://lnkd.in/eFiBQNrw

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This article from The Washington Post's Greg Miller sheds light on how the Turkish government misuses counter-terrorism frameworks -- established by the U.S. -- to suppress dissent, disproportionately targeting exiles, #journalists, #NGOs, and activists who dare to speak out against authoritarian practices. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/e86bcHwX This piece illustrates a chilling global trend: the erosion of civil society under the guise of national security efforts. Because there is no universally accepted definition of "terrorism", governments are easily able to manipulate and weaponize loose international security frameworks to label their critics as “terrorists.” Read the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, groundbreaking report highlighting this global trend: https://lnkd.in/eFMDMe3g At a time when global challenges demand collective action, ensuring that the tools of national security are not misused to undermine grassroots movements and government accountability is essential. #NationalSecurity #CivilSociety #HumanRights #CounterTerrorism

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ITAR News: The public comments that DDTC received for the proposed rule on defense services have been posted and are available here: https://lnkd.in/eXTmnbQg #itar #ddtc #exportcontrols #defensetrade #defenseservices

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📣 Treasury / OFAC Sanctions Entities Supporting Drone Production for Russia's War Against Ukraine On October 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three entities and one individual involved in the development and production of Russia's Garpiya long-range attack drones, which have been used in the ongoing war against Ukraine. ✅ The sanctioned parties include PRC-based companies Redlepus Vector Industry and Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine, and Russian national Artem Mikhailovich Yamshchikov, who is linked to TSK Vektor. ⛔ These actions are aimed at disrupting the networks supporting Russia’s military operations and were taken under Executive Order 14024. Original source 👉: https://lnkd.in/gWP7ZChx #USsanctions #sanctionsupdate #sanctionscompliance #Russiasanctions #UkraineWar #OFAC #TSKVektor #GarpiyaUAV

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A proposed rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) was published by the U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls last month to advance the goals of the trilateral AUKUS partnership. The new rule proposes to amend ITAR and introduce an exemption that will reduce export authorisation requirements for defence articles, services, and brokering activities for authorised users in the UK and Australia. “The amendments should help to speed up cooperation between authorised users in the defence industry of the three nations,” the director of RAND Australia, Andrew Dowse, told #CTO. Tom Corben, a research fellow at the University of Sydney’s US Studies Centre, told CTO that the amendments would “likely make some forms of co-development and technology cooperation easier – though, importantly, not all, and certainly not AUKUS Pillar II projects.” Find out more in the latest issue of the CTO newsletter 👉 Link in the comments. #CTO #offset #defenceindustry #US #ITAR #AUKUS #technologytransfer #cooperation #PillarII

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How should senior DoD leaders utilize Foreign Area Officers? Michael Burgoyne and I just published the "Five Foreign Area Officer Truths" in the National Defense University "Joint Force Quarterly". Look forward to your comments. https://lnkd.in/eXz3BeFU Here are the five… 1.⁠ ⁠FAOs Are Most Effective in the Gray Zone Between Peace and War 2.⁠ ⁠Networks Cannot Be Built After a Crisis Begins 3.⁠ ⁠FAOs Are Regional Experts, Not Generalists 4.⁠ ⁠Language and Culture Provide FAOs’ Unique Access 5. FAOs Are Raised by their Services but Operate in Joint and Interagency World

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