On May 2, 2014, the Eastern District of Virginia1 held that attorneys must inform the Court of any pending Inter Partes Review (IPR) regarding patents asserted in litigation. Failure to do so may violate the general duty of candor and good faith to the Court.
On May 9, 2014, a federal appeals court reversed a California trial court’s determination that 37 API packages that are part of Oracle’s famous Java programming platform were not subject to copyright protection.
The initiative, supported by Consumer Watchdog and the trial lawyer association Consumer Attorneys of California, will be assigned a proposition number in early July.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently charged two companies — Fandango, LLC, and Credit Karma, Inc. — with violating the FTC Act by misrepresenting the security of their mobile apps and failing to securely transmit sensitive personal information over the Internet.
In a decision filed on May 8, 2014, the California Court of Appeals held that patentable ideas, if kept secret, can constitute information protectable by trade secret law.
On May 7, 2014, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced settlements with two New York-based hospitals totaling $4.8 million for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules.
Often times indenture trustees seek to sit on creditors committees in furtherance of their fiduciary duties to holders. Obviously, the professional fees and expenses can be paid as a first priority pursuant to a charging lien as provided for under the indenture documents.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release yesterday (available here) touting its continued focus on trade associations’ compliance with the antitrust laws.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that reporting companies are not required to describe their products as “DRC conflict free,” having “not been found to be ‘DRC conflict free,’” or “DRC conflict undeterminable,” as originally required in the Conflict Minerals Rule (CMR).
On April 22, 2014, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced settlements of close to $2 million with two health care entities for violations of the Privacy and Security Rules promulgated under the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
On April 14, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit stuck down portions of the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Final Rule on Conflict Minerals (Final Rule) as unconstitutional.
It is unlikely that any ruling by a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ever sparked such nationwide commentary as that of Region 13 Regional Director Peter Sung Ohr in ruling that Northwestern University scholarship football players are “employees” of the University.
By a 2-1 vote, a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or Board) ordered a California hospital found to have bargained in bad faith to reimburse the Union for its negotiating expenses and extended the certification year by another 12 month period.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia recently dismissed a former university employee’s claims under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (the DCHRA) that she was wrongfully discharged for opposing gay marriage.
On April 13, 2014, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) signed a law (S.B. 365) that will limit exposure for employers who hire employees with a criminal conviction history.
On April 3, 2014, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order sanctioning those responsible for the conflict in South Sudan. The Executive Order blocks the property and entry of designated entities and individuals.