Alibaba Wins Injunction on DOW Covered-Lobbyist Contracting Ban
A court has enjoined the Department of War from enforcing its covered-lobbyist contracting ban against Alibaba, while the statutory prohibition under 10 U.S.C. § 4663 otherwise remains enforceable against contractors.
Under 10 U.S.C. § 4663, the Department of War (DOW) is prohibited from contracting with a company, or with its parent or subsidiaries, if that company is party to a contract with a "covered lobbyist." Skadden reports that Alibaba has obtained an injunction against the department's application of that prohibition, though the source does not identify the court, the date of the ruling, or the reasoning, so the scope of the relief is not established from this material. The injunction appears to be company-specific: the covered-lobbyist contracting ban otherwise remains in force against contractors for now. For clients, the practical significance is a possible asymmetry in enforcement — exposure now turns on which contracting entity is at issue and on the state of the underlying lobbying registrations rather than on the ban itself. Government contractors, entities holding Lobbying Disclosure Act registrations, and companies with China-facing operations should reassess their own covered-lobbyist determinations rather than treat the ruling as a general safe harbor. Watch for the docket and any appellate proceedings, further rulings, or new government guidance on how the department applies the bar after the injunction.