Debtors hoping to discharge their obligations in bankruptcy may find a new hurdle based on the US Supreme Court’s Feb. 22 ruling. Relying on the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, and Congress’s use of passive voice, the Supreme Court held that funds obtained through fraud, regardless of who committed such fraud, are not dischargeable through bankruptcy ...
The Regulation’s overall goal is to encourage Member States to carry out Strategic Mineral Projects involving minerals such as e.g. Copper, Titanium, Nickel – battery grade, Lithium – battery grade, and Rare Earth Elements for magnets. The aim for the EU’s extraction capacity is set to be at least 10 % of the Union’s consumption of strategic raw materials ...
The Department of Health and Human Resources (“DHHR”) was West Virginia’s largest executive agency until the Legislature passed House Bill 2006 earlier this month. For several years now, West Virginia lawmakers have been looking into how to handle the enormous agency, improve its function and oversight, and improve the management of the wide range of health and social programs administered by the DHHR. With an annual budget topping $7 ...
People hoping Washington would closely follow Oregon into the regulated use of psilocybin overseen by licensed practitioners faced a delay when a committee of the Washington legislature converted Senate Bill 5263 from legalizing psilocybin services to calling for more research. On March 7, 2023, the state senate passed the substitute version of SB 5263 with 41 votes for passage and 7 opposed ...
With an aim of improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Kenya's productive resources, the Privatisation Bill, 2023 aims to replace the current Privatisation Act, 2005. President William Ruto has to privatise six to 10 state corporations to ease the burden on the exchequer and to raise financing for government projects through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) instead of seeking financing from external markets ...
Apple Inc. v. Vidal, Appeal No. 2022-1249 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 13, 2023) In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit allowed Apple’s challenge to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) Fintiv rules to proceed, at least on limited grounds regarding whether in promulgating the guidelines the USPTO failed to follow notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act ...
In a busy Legislative Session, one bill passed that may go unnoticed, but will be of help to Boards of Education. Through House Bill 3146, the Legislature adopted the Uniform Public Meetings During Emergencies Act (“the Act”). The Act was proposed by the Uniform Law Commission (“ULC”), which provides states with non-partisan legislation that attempts to bring clarity and stability to state statutory law ...
On March 8, 2023, the Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 592, which, if passed by the House and signed by the governor, would significantly increase the penalty amounts that the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) could impose on an employer for workplace safety violations. In addition, SB 592 would require Oregon OSHA to conduct comprehensive inspections of a workplace under specific circumstances, greatly expanding the number of inspections that an employer could face ...
Amongst the pensions, childcare and other headline financial announcements in this week's Spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt signalled the Government's continued focus on Artificial intelligence (AI) as a targeted growth sector for the UK economy. The Chancellor pledged a £900m investment to support the development of supercomputing capabilities that can underpin the growth of the AI sector in the UK ...
On March 3, 2023, the Court of Appeal of Santiago granted a constitutional petition for protection (“recurso de protección”) filed by a bookstore chain against the Municipality of Santiago for not adopting adequate and effective measures to prevent the installation of street vending in Ahumada Street ...
?Clear skies overhead, patent marking protects well, innovation blooms.? ?Patent marking? is the practice of labelling a product to provide notification that it is protected by one or more patents. From a public perspective, it serves three related purposes: avoiding innocent infringement; encouraging patentees to give notice to the public and aiding the public to identify whether an article is indeed patented. (Nike, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 138 F.3d 1437, 1998, p. 1443) ...
Reliance on performance guarantees in infrastructure projects has gained traction in Uganda in recent years. A performance guarantee is a legal promise made by one party to another, and typically backed by a third-party financial institution, to ensure fulfilment of contractual obligations ...
Prepare for another big shift in health care operations. On January 30, 2023, President Joe Biden announced he would not extend the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) beyond its current expiration date of May 11. The PHE was declared by former President Donald Trump in March of 2020 as COVID-19 began to spread around the nation. The waivers and other regulatory changes instituted in its wake have impacted nearly every facet of health care services ...
Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., Appeal No. 21-2168 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 6, 2023) The Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent opinion this week focuses on the written description requirement in the context of an anticipation analysis in the chemical arts. Specifically, it concerns whether disclosures in asserted prior art were sufficient to disclose a claimed molecular structure ...
In the waning days of 2022, FDA issued an updated Food Code with several important updates. FDA is responsible for more than a quarter of the U.S. economy, and the Food Code impacts virtually every American ...
Malta, as a European Union (‘EU’) Member State, is bound to apply the 2019 Hague Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, also known as the Hague Judgments Convention, from the 1st of September 2023 ...
On March 1, 2023, the Department of Education (“DOE”) released guidance related to the instances in which it will require assumption of personal liability for an institution’s continued participation in Title IV programs. Last year, the DOE announced updated signature requirements for institutions’ Program Participation Agreements (“PPA”). Institutions entering into PPAs already agree to comply with regulatory requirements related to financial responsibility ...
Sustained biodiversity loss since the industrial revolution has resulted in Britain being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. One response to this enduring problem are proposals to use the planning system to mandate biodiversity net gain (BNG) through the development management process. The aim of the requirements is to secure a minimum 10 per cent biodiversity net gain from new developments, with effect from November 2023 ...
Back in May 2021, the UK Government and India formed a new partnership to facilitate Indian and British young professionals being able to work in each other’s home countries. The Home Office has now published guidance in respect of this on its website calling the scheme the “India Young Professionals Scheme visa”. The scheme is reciprocal so young UK nationals meeting the criteria can apply to live, study and work in India for up to two years ...
On January 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees. We previously summarized the proposed rule here and here. The original deadline for comments on the proposed rule was March 20. On March 6, the FTC announced it is extending the deadline to submit comments to April 19. As of March 9, a total of 16,965 comments (8,848 electronically) have been received on the proposed rule ...
On January 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees. We previously summarized the proposed rule here and here. The original deadline for comments on the proposed rule was March 20. On March 6, the FTC announced it is extending the deadline to submit comments to April 19. As of March 9, a total of 16,965 comments (8,848 electronically) have been received on the proposed rule ...
China Business Law Journal Published March 9, 2023 With the growing importance of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and the high level of globalisation in capital and supply chains, the scope of ESG regulation is no longer confined to listed companies, the traditional targets ...
