Innovating New Designs and Gaining Approval
Domestic Compliance for Novel Designs
One of the driving forces of the small arms industry is the constant innovation in making firearms perform better in every respect. Whether one is selling to the responsible citizenry of the United States, domestic law enforcement, the U.S. military, or to foreign customers, the market demands constant progress towards lighter weight, higher accuracy and precision, improved range, increased controllability, and more user-friendliness, among many, many other desirable characteristics in firearms and ammunition.
Inconveniently for the scrupulous and industrious engineer and designer, a myriad of laws and regulations - many of them facially unconstitutional - govern every step of the process of innovating in the field of small arms and ammunition. Therefore, having the help of a seasoned and dedicated attorney on your side is absolutely essential in making sure not only that your design activities stay on the right side of the law, but that the fruits of your labor receive approval for release on the market. Luckily, in addition to being an area of law that the Managing Attorney of the Law Office of Joseph P. Evans, PLC has practiced extensively at the highest levels of the legal profession, it is a field he knows inside and out, and about which he holds a burning passion.
Whether you are innovating a new type of projectile for handloading or loaded ammunition, a part or accessory that pushes the envelope of what a civilian-legal firearm can do, or birthing a completely new type of rifle, shotgun, handgun, or “other” firearm, Joe is your man. From the formulation of a basic idea for a novel product, to complying with regulations concerning manufacturing and commercial liability, to approval of your design by the ATF, Joe will be by your side and add value at every stage. He has the experience, training, know-how, and most of all passion, to guide you through every step of the innovation process, all while keeping everything above-board and compliant.
One can readily understand how in the business of design and production compliance - one that involves both technical expertise and questions of Constitutional law - it can help to have in your corner and advising you an attorney who not only served as judicial clerk to an esteemed judge at one of the highest federal courts in the country, but who was of-counsel on an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States on Constitutional grounds. That this attorney is also the acknowledged subject matter expert on the original AR-pattern design also cannot hurt.
There are several areas in which domestic compliance issues arise for those in the small arms business. For a deeper dive into each of these areas of design, please see the sections for them: