Inflation Reduction Act
Treasury Department and IRS Release Additional Guidance for the Advanced Energy Project Credit Allocation Program
On May 31, 2023, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-44 (the Notice). The Notice provides additional guidance for the new program under Section 48C(e) created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA)...
Environmental Essentials Webinar Series – Sackett II/WOTUS IX: Implementation of the Supreme Court’s Interpretation of “Waters of the US” Under the Clean Water Act
Bracewell’s Ann Navaro , Sara Burgin and Daniel Pope discussed the implications of the US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Sackett v. EPA for the reach of the Clean Water Act at the federal level and in the states. They...
Unanimous Supreme Court: Consumer Confusion Is Trademark Infringement Test, Even for Punny Parodies
It may be punny or even funny, but a unanimous Supreme Court has decided that the “Bad Spaniels” dog-toy brand may infringe and dilute the “Jack Daniel’s” trademark. [1] Last week’s opinion puts an end to the toy maker’s attempt...
Congress Amends NEPA in Effort to Reform Federal Permitting
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The law increased the debt ceiling and, among other things, amended the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA is a bedrock environmental law that has not seen...
Offshore Wind Litigation: Court Declines to Halt Vineyard Wind Construction
A federal court has denied a request by members of the fishing industry to pause offshore construction of the Vineyard Wind Project (Project), the first modern utility-scale offshore wind project in the United States to receive all permits and approvals...
Treasury Department and IRS Release Guidance on the New Domestic Content Bonus Credit
The domestic content bonus credit (the DC Bonus), which was introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA), provides an enhanced tax credit for renewable energy and storage projects constructed with sufficient US-sourced materials and components (the Domestic...
Warhol Decision May Lead to Copyright Licensing Spike
Artists beware—it’s not how hard you work but how differently you use the art that really matters. In the majority decision that governs, and as such, artists and copyright owners must now keep in the forefront of their minds the potential future uses of a work when evaluating whether the new creation is fair use or unlawfully derivative.
Offshore Wind Litigation: Court Denies Challenge to Major Offshore Wind Project
The federal government has successfully defended its approvals of the Vineyard Wind project offshore Massachusetts (Project), setting the stage for further decisions as other challenges proceed. Vineyard Wind is the first modern utility-scale offshore wind project to reach the construction...
Supreme Court Rules Andy Warhol’s Famous “Orange Prince” May Be Copyright Infringement
Today, in an opinion that purports to be narrow but will have sweeping implications, the Supreme Court ruled that Andy Warhol’s well-known “ Orange Prince ” illustration is not a transformative fair use of Lynn Goldsmith’s photograph of Prince. [1]...
FINRA Facts and Trends: May 2023
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This month, we report on FINRA’s appearance at SIFMA...
EPA’s Proposal to Grant Class VI Primacy to Louisiana – Availability of Application Documents
On May 4, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its proposal to approve revision of Louisiana’s Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program to add Class VI injection well primary enforcement responsibility (primacy) for Class...
SEC Adopts New Repurchase Disclosure Rules
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted a package of amendments, originally proposed in late 2021, to the disclosure requirements for corporate issuers’ share repurchases. The SEC stated that the new rules are designed to provide investors with more...
SLGS Window Closing May 2, 2023
The US Department of the Treasury announced the suspension of sales of US Treasury Obligations – State and Local Government Series (i.e., SLGS), effective 10:00 a.m. ET, May 2, 2023. New subscriptions for SLGS received after such time will not...
Eight Key Amendments of the 2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules
The fourth amendments to the ICSID Arbitration Rules are the most extensive since their inception. [1] Unless an underlying treaty or agreement provides otherwise, the revised 2022 Arbitration Rules of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)...
With Merit: What’s New in ICSID Rules and Regulations
What are the most significant changes in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute's (ICSID) arbitration rules? Jadranka Jakovcic provides an overview in this With Merit video.