There was a time when the decision to offshore manufacturing operations to an emerging market was an easy business decision.  However, the past decade has many companies questioning that business model.  Rising labor costs, uncertain supply chains, labor unrest and the costly and lengthy delivery time for manufactured goods coming from Asia has exponentially increased the cost to offshore manufacturing.

The long running and heated debate over the extent to which software should be patentable has recently garnered significant media attention.  The debate is due, in part, to the abstract nature of software patents, the large awards handed down in infringement cases and the fact that software patents are regularly asserted by non-practicing entities (NPEs) against Fortune 500 companies and other large corporations. 

The industrial revolution changed the world and since that time further innovation, technology and design have enhanced our lives many times over.  Husch Blackwell salutes those who have been part of this process these many years and we look forward to working with them in the future as the impact of that revolution moves us…

On July 31, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new rule, effective January 31, 2014, that provides some new clarity on how wipes that are contaminated with certain hazardous solvents must be managed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal statute governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste.

California courts have forged a shield for product manufacturers faced with liability stemming from the foreseeable but unintended use of their product in conjunction with another manufacturer’s product. Consistent with a recent decision by the California Supreme Court, a California appellate court concluded that a manufacturer is generally not liable in strict liability or negligence for harm caused by another manufacturer’s product, despite the fact that the two products are compatible to be used together.

In December 2002, Gary Prokup, a 200-hour, non-instrument rated private pilot, purchased a new SR22 aircraft from Cirrus, the manufacturer.  Included with the price of the aircraft, Cirrus offered a new owner transition training program, an obligation which Cirrus subcontracted to the University of North Dakota Flight Foundation (UNDAF).  Prokup registered for and took the training.