Keller and Heckman’s Nanotechnology attorneys offer strategic services to clients to address the variety of legal issues associated with using new and existing nanotechnology products in industrial, food, food packaging, pesticide, and consumer applications. We take an interdisciplinary approach to help clients bring their products to market, even in uncertain regulatory climates. 

Keller and Heckman attorneys, with support from in-house scientists, solve the full range of legal challenges faced by manufacturers, processors, and end users, including product liability and indemnification. We use a comprehensive approach when navigating the legal hurdles faced by clients in the rapidly changing nanotechnology field and advise on policies and practices for companies to manage the unknown product liability considerations of the future. 

Representative Matters

• Submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs’ proposal to require mandatory reporting of routine information on nanoscale ingredients in pesticides under Section 6(a)(2) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
• Filed industry amici brief in a case challenging conditional registration of a nanosilver product under FIFRA
• Assisted with the registration of new nanoscale inert and active ingredients under FIFRA, such as silver, copper, and silica
• Successfully negotiated with the EPA concerning the TSCA program to secure regulatory approval for the use of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes for industrial applications, as well as nanomaterials in washing machines and other consumer products
• Advised brand owners on evaluating and addressing the use of nanoscale materials in consumer products in their labeling and web-based communications to the market and the public
• Reviewed and negotiated numerous specialized recall/product contamination insurance policies for food companies worldwide
• Participated in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars published study, “Assuring the Safety of Nanomaterials in Food Packaging: The Regulatory Process and Key Issues” as a Science Working Group Member and Co-chair of the Law, Policy and Process Work Group
• Advised on the use of nanoscale substances in the European Union under the Plastics Regulation, Cosmetics Directive, Biocides Directive, and France’s law requiring a declaration for engineered nanomaterials
• Advised companies on the regulatory status of nanomaterials for use in food-contact applications
• Assisted with establishing a suitable compliance status for the use of new nanoscale products in food packaging materials