Alerts

The CRFA (2016) voids a contract if it prohibits or restricts an individual from reviewing a seller’s goods, services, or conduct.

The White House issued an executive order on January 30, 2017 requiring agencies and executive departments to “identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed” whenever they propose or promulgate a new regulation.

At a Silicon Valley IP symposium held at the Santa Clara University School of Law on Friday, February 3, presentations by in-house counsel and prosecutors highlighted the critical importance of trade secrets to technology companies.

An Austrian hotel was a recent victim of a “ransomware” computer attack that disabled its electronic room key system and locked up its own computers. This demonstrates that hotel owners and managers should be sure IT agreements adequately address the risks of cyberattacks.

On January 31, 2017, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board released an official memorandum declaring that scholarship football players at some of the most elite college programs are employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced a proposed settlement and consent order in its investigation of a US-based water filtration company.

Earlier this month, FDA finalized Guidance for Industry, Assessment of Abuse Potential of Drugs. This guidance is intended to assist researchers and sponsors of new drugs that may have central nervous system (CNS) activity evaluate whether the drug has abuse potential.

In this episode of Fashion Counsel, Partners Anthony Lupo and Michelle Marsh discuss copyright laws and their applications (and road blocks) to the retail sector.

For the second consecutive year, International Trade partner David Hamill and Canada-US.Cross Border Business Affairs director Birgit Matthiesen contributed their insights to Lead, Reach and Connect, the must-read magazine for the Automotive Parts Manufactures Association.

What is most notable about this guidance is that FDA has taken the position that this type of information may be shared before a product has been approved. 

Today, January 19, 2017, FDA and USDA published a flurry of new policy documents related to the agencies’ regulation of plants, animals, and microorganisms produced using new breeding methods, like gene editing. 

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, that, if enacted, would eliminate judicial deference to agency regulations.

Today the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls issued a general license that effectively removes US sanctions against Sudan (North) effective January 17, 2017. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, published a Final Rule on January 5, 2017 addressing how 340B covered outpatient drug “Ceiling Prices” are to be calculated under the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

In an important decision clarifying California’s rest period requirements, the California Supreme Court has held that nearly all employees subject to the state’s rest periods rules cannot be subject to on-duty or on-call rest periods.

An interesting case came out of the Federal Circuit in Amdocs (Israel) Limited v. Openet Telecom, Inc., No. 2015-1180, 2016 WL 6440387 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 1, 2016) in which the Court reversed the district court’s granting of Openet’s motion for judgment.

On December 31, 2016, at 12:01am (i.e. not January 1, 2017), the New York State Department of Labor will implement regulations increasing the salary threshold exempting employees from overtime-pay requirements for most private employers.

On December 9, 2016, the Senate Agriculture Committee filed report language for the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law, the legislation signed into law by President Obama in July to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.

On December 20, 2016, the Council of the District of Columbia voted 9-4 to approve the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016, a landmark piece of legislation that would create one of the most generous paid family and medical leave programs in the nation.

Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a “resource document” to provide information to applicants and employees who suffer from mental health conditions.

On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court determined in State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby that violation of the statutorily mandated seal requirement, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2), in a qui tam False Claims Act case does not automatically require dismissal,

On December 7, 2016, FDA published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing that its Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition will begin publishing data extracted from adverse event reports the Agency has received for conventional foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetics.

On appeal from a decision in the In re Energy Future Holdings Corp. bankruptcy case, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that contractual make-whole premium provisions are enforceable where the obligation to repay bond debt is accelerated by a bankruptcy filing.