Semiconductors

In addition, with the increased scrutiny on the national security and economic implications of semiconductor production, our deep experience in the national security space and in government allows us to assist semiconductor clients with their most important and complex cross-border issues.

Akin provides full support to semiconductor industry clients worldwide. We have served as longtime counsel to the most high-profile semiconductor companies and represented household names, as well as industry start-ups. Our clients include leading semiconductor trade associations and manufacturers throughout the semiconductor supply chain, including designers, developers, investors, manufacturers, microprocessor companies and testing equipment producers, among others.

Depth of Practice

Our semiconductor lawyers and lobbyists draw on the in-depth experience of a range of practices spanning the corporate life cycle. The team includes lawyers with backgrounds in relevant government agencies, such as the former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Former House Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, former members of the National Security Council, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), among others.

In addition to our team’s deep background in government, our team includes members with technical backgrounds in various science and engineering disciplines relevant to the semiconductor space. Our group also includes veteran trial lawyers, registered patent lawyers and former in-house counsel of semiconductor and other technology companies. Further, our team has a truly global reach, including lawyers and advisors who work collaboratively across the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

We offer full support to clients, including advising on international trade and export control matters, corporate transactions involving semiconductor companies, financial and operational restructurings, private funds investing in the semiconductor space, cybersecurity and data privacy matters, government contracts, and investigations and disputes. Our semiconductor lawyers collaborate across all of these practices to assist clients with their most sophisticated, complex, cross-practice and cross-jurisdictional issues.

Our renowned lobbying and public policy team works—on a bipartisan basis—with members of Congress, executive branch agencies and the White House on a broad range of policy issues, including those related to semiconductors and the CHIPS Act.

Spotlight on the CHIPS Act

The CHIPS Act includes a 25% investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing facilities expenditures. Our tax lawyers offer multidisciplinary services in order to ensure that no consideration is neglected in order to achieve our clients’ business goals.

The CHIPS Act also includes a new set of guardrails to ensure that entities that receive the semiconductor incentive funding do not use the funding to buy back their own stock, provide shareholders with dividend payments or expand advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in foreign countries of concern like China. This guardrail provision is of significant consequence to businesses and must be taken into account with every transaction.

Akin is equipped to help clients navigate this provision so that they are fully compliant with the legislation. Our lawyers are frequently designated as leaders in the international trade field. We have extensive experience guiding companies and industries through the detailed trade regulatory processes.

Learn more about our work advising on the CHIPS Act.

We are also consistently ranked as a premier firm for high-stakes patent litigation involving a wide range of technologies. We advise on intellectual property disputes of all degrees of complexity. Our lawyers have extensive experience in complex patent cases in federal district courts, before the International Trade Commission (ITC) and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Representative Matters

• Advising numerous businesses across the semiconductor ecosystem in navigating the CHIPS Act and other complex legislation at the local, state, federal and international levels.
• Advising clients on the process of applying for federal financial assistance, including in the CHIPS Act, as well as claiming its advanced manufacturing tax credit.
• Regularly representing U.S. semiconductor and other high-technology companies regarding compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), including the prohibitions pertaining to activities involving foreign companies on the EAR’s Entity List, Denied Persons List and Unverified List.
• Advised a prominent manufacturer of automatic test equipment for the semiconductor industry with export control advice, including the applicability of EAR and export prohibitions.
• Represented a U.S.-based multinational semiconductor company on export controls.
• Advised in an ITC 337 proceeding involving patent infringement claims related to a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor technology.
• Counseled a provider of manufacturing equipment, services and software to the semiconductor and related industries. The matter concerned export controls on emerging and foundational technologies.

Learn more about our work in the technology sector.