SEC Issues Updated Statement On Conflict Minerals Rule

On Friday afternoon, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued an Updated Statement on the Conflict Minerals Rule (the "Rule"). An updated Statement was widely anticipated. Earlier in the week, on April 3rd, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered its final judgment in the case and remanded to the SEC. This Alert discusses the Statement and other related developments, as well as short-term compliance considerations.

The District Court Judgment – A Recap

In its final judgment, the District Court (1) declared that Section 1502 of Dodd-Frank, Rule 13p-1 thereunder and Form SD violate the First Amendment to the extent that the statute and the rule require companies to report to the SEC and state on their websites that any of their products "have not been found to be 'DRC conflict free,'" (2) held unlawful and set aside the Rule to the extent that it requires companies to report to the SEC and state on their websites that any of their