Global Policy Watch

Key Public Policy Developments Around the World

November 1, 2024, Covington Alert

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the Tax Court’s denial of tax-exempt status for Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization (MHACO) as an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. The decision could have implications for lobbying, political, and member-related activities

October 29, 2024, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics.

During the third quarter of 2024 FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) posted the following three

October 28, 2024, Covington Alert

The upcoming U.S. presidential election on November 5 will have important implications for U.S. trade policy that are likely to affect companies reliant on international supply chains. There are important differences in how former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris approach the use of trade tools to advance U.S.

On 21 October 2024, the UK Government laid the draft Post-market Surveillance statutory instrument (“PMS SI”) before Parliament (see the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (“MHRA’s”) press release here).  Once implemented, the PMS SI will further amend the UK’s Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (“UK MDRs”) by introducing new vigilance requirements for medical devices

October 12, 2024, marks the 10-year anniversary of entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair Benefit-Sharing from their Utilization (“ABS”). This additional treaty to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) has now been ratified by 142 countries. Over the past decade, Nagoya Protocol has resulted in the mushrooming

Executive Summary

  • Nation-wide elections for mayors and city councilors will likely impact Brazil’s national politics, its federal government, and the upcoming elections for the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate – all of them relevant for investors.
  • The local elections will be seen as a referendum on President Luiz Inácio Lula da

The Senate Judiciary Committee is once again scheduled to markup the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act (S.4713/H.R.9455) this Thursday, September 19.

The bipartisan, bicameral IDEA Act was introduced in the Senate by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Senate Judiciary Intellectual Property (IP) Subcommittee Ranking Member Thom Tillis (R-NC), along

In late August, the California legislature passed two bills that would limit the creation or use of “digital replicas,” making California the latest state to seek new protections for performers, artists, and other employees in response to the rise of AI-generated content.  These state efforts come as Congress considers the NO FAKES Act (S.

On 18 July 2024, Ursula von der Leyen, the current President of the European Commission (“Commission”), was reconfirmed by the European Parliament for a second term. Ahead of her reconfirmation, President von der Leyen delivered a speech before the European Parliament, accompanied by a 30-page program (the “Guidelines”) that lays down the next five-year policy

The European Commission’s draft guidelines on exclusionary abusive conduct by dominant firms under Article 102 TFEU (the “Draft Guidelines”) were published on 1 August 2024. They show a marked change from the 2009 Article 82 [now Article 102] Enforcement Priorities Guidance (the “Priorities Guidance”): economic concept has largely been replaced with the Commission’s interpretation of