Fee-to-trust, sometimes also called land-into-trust, is the process by which tribes can have land taken into trust by the federal government. Congress authorized the Department of the Interior (DOI) to take land into trust for tribes in 1934 under the Indian Reorganization Act, 25 U.S.C. 5108 ...
Mojave Desert Holdings, LLC v. Crocs, Inc., Appeal No. 2020-1167 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 21, 2021) The Federal Circuit issued a single precedential patent case this week—a modified version of a non-precedential order issued February 11, 2021 concerning substitution of a successor company for a bankrupt company in PTAB proceedings. The modified version of the order has been designated precedential, with a dissenting opinion issued by Judge O’Malley ...
The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has made an adjustment to its guidance to provide that entities which have concluded a bankruptcy proceeding are not, for purposes of PPP eligibility, considered in bankruptcy. Entities which are presently in bankruptcy are not eligible for a PPP loan. The SBA’s latest Frequently Asked Questions (found at https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/PPP%20FAQs%204.6.21%20FINAL-508.pdf) contain a new FAQ Number 67 ...
As a follow up to my article on December 4, 2020, reporting that California enacted SB 908 – the Debt Collection Licensing Act, Financial Code Division 25, Sections 100000, et seq., the administering agency Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Friday, April 23rd. The proposed regulations for Debt Collection Licensing Act will be installed in Title 10, California Code of Regulations, Subchapter 11 ...
On March 23, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed a new law (Senate Bill 1480) that makes several meaningful changes to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). One significant change under the new law states employers may not use criminal conviction records when making employment decisions unless employers consider specific factors and take certain steps before making a final employment decision ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the difficulties in reacting at European level to a major health crisis and the intention of the European Commission is to respond more effectively to future problems in the area of health. As a result, it is currently conducting an initial assessment of possible legislative changes in the area of medicinal products for human use ...
On 16 April 2021, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Exchange) published a consultation paper outlining proposed enhancements to the Corporate Governance Code and Corporate Governance Report (Code) set out in Appendix 14 to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Exchange (Rules), as well as related amendments to the Rules ...
When President Biden announced in December 2020 that he intended to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the appointment raised eyebrows in certain policy circles. Becerra does not fit the typical administrative profile of past HHS heads. In fact, he has no actual experience in health care or public health policy. Rather, his background is primarily rooted in law enforcement ...
On the 23rd March 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered a Grand Chamber decision on a preliminary reference transmitted to it by a Swedish tribunal in a matter concerning air passenger rights (Airhelp Ltd v. Scandinavian Airline System SAS, c-28/20) ...
On April 19, 2021, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice approved Senate Bill 375 related to county boards of education policies for open enrollment. County boards may recall changes to applicable law found in W. Va. Code 18-5-16 following the 2019 Legislative Session. Although W. Va ...
For most of the last decade, creative plaintiffs attorneys and their clients — states, municipalities and environmental groups — have pushed novel, untested tort theories designed to hold energy companies, and sometimes, those same state and municipal interests, liable for climate change. Plaintiffs have concentrated their efforts in West Coast forums. But New York and Baltimore saw some action too. Florida, by and large, has avoided the fray. No longer ...
Raytheon Techs. Corp. v. General Elec. Co., Appeal No. 2020-1755 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 16, 2021) In its only precedential patent decision this week, the Federal Circuit issued an important ruling about the issue of enablement as it applies to prior references used in an obviousness analysis. Raytheon owned a patent related to gas turbine engines ...
The UK will host the UN’s COP26 climate change conference in November 2021, but what is a COP – and what happened at the previous 25 COPs? 15 April 2021 marks 200 days until COP26 is due to start. Taking place in Glasgow from 1-12 November 2021, COP26 is the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ...
The race to achieve net zero emissions has played a significant role in pushing forward the fight against climate change. Key stakeholders are becoming alive to the opportunity presented by a decarbonised economy and those who do not get on board now risk being left behind. What chrnet zero? Simply put, net zero is premised on attaining a balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere ...
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) is a new federally-funded program providing emergency assistance for eligible venues adversely affected by COVID-19. The program, administered by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Disaster Assistance, will offer over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, providing economic relief to eligible entities. This legal update summarizes the requirements and additional information related to the grant application process ...
The realisation of large sustainability projects often requires various market players to work together ...
The INPI (Brazilian PTO) published Ordinance/INPI/PR No. 21, of March 26, 2021, which extends the Backlog Combat Project aiming at reducing the number of invention patent applications pending decision. The ordinance came into force on April 1st, 2021, and targets patent applications filed between Jan. 1st, 2017 and Dec. 31st, 2017 ...
On March 31, 2021 Law no. 14,132/2021 was passed to include the crime of obsessive persecution ("stalking") in the Brazilian Penal Code, in the chapter of Crimes Against Personal Freedom, article 147-A. The new law abrogates the misdemeanor of harassment or disturbance of tranquility, until now invoked to punish stalking behavior ...
The statutory framework for copyright in India encompasses the Copyright Act, 1957 (“CA”) and the Copyright Rules, 2013 (“CR”). This now stands amended in the form of Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (“CAR”) by the Central Government by virtue of powers conferred under section 78 of the CA. The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Govt. of India) has duly notified this amendment[1] under Gazette notification bearing number G.S.R ...
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) approved the much-debated General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Winery Order”) on January 20, 2021. Although the official version of the approved Winery Order has not been released, an uncertified copy has been posted on the SWRCB website. Based on that document, most of the elements of the draft Winery Order remain unchanged from the most-recent draft issued for public comment ...
It is only seven months until the eyes of the world fall on Glasgow as it hosts COP26. The conference comes with some terminology which might be unfamiliar. This article is designed to bring you quickly up to speed with the words and phrases you’ll be hearing a lot about in the coming months. The very basics... COP – ‘Conference of the Parties’, the parties being the 197 signatories to the UNFCCC treaty ...
It is only seven months until the eyes of the world fall on Glasgow as it hosts COP 26. The conference comes with some terminology which might be unfamiliar. This article is designed to bring you quickly up to speed with the words and phrases you’ll be hearing a lot about in the coming months. The very basics... COP – ‘Conference of the Parties’, the parties being the 197 signatories to the UNFCCC treaty ...
