Unclassified defense technical data that is properly secured with end-to-end encryption is no longer considered an export when it is transmitted outside the U.S., as of March 25, 2020. Access to the unencrypted data by an unauthorized foreign person, however, remains an ITAR-controlled export. This change resulted from an Interim Final Rule coming into effect from the U.S ...
Commentators and lawyers continue to make blanket statements regarding lack of business interruption coverage for losses caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). They contend that coronavirus-related losses cannot satisfy the “direct physical loss of or damage to [covered] property” language contained in many policies to trigger coverage in the first place ...
Scammers and cyber crooks did not take long to adapt their usual fraud to this uncertain period caused by the Covid-19, refinishing notably their sadly notorious “CEO Fraud” to the present circumstances ...
In the wake of COVID-19, cities, counties and states across the nation are issuing shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders to curb nonessential movement of residents. States and local authorities are invoking powers to evacuate residents through statutes that have historically been used for natural disaster evacuations. While the ability to order and enforce such evacuations is not in dispute, the orders in this context raise many questions ...
In the wake of COVID-19, cities, counties and states across the nation are issuing “shelter in place” orders to curb nonessential movement of residents, and companies around the world are moving to a remote work system. This webinar focuses on IT, cybersecurity, and privacy issues that may impact businesses that are located in “shelter-in-place” jurisdictions ...
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the CARES ACT was signed into law. The Cares Act includes provisions for changing deadlines for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. For patents and trademarks, the Act permits the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to change the deadlines imposed by Title 35 of the United States Code, the Trademark Act, Section 18 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ...
COVID-19 brought a tremendous disruption of normal daily life/business affecting personal life and businesses alike. People and companies/ institutions alike are in continuous assessment of solutions and compromises to mitigate the impact of the COVID – 19 pandemic. In the context of a continuously evolving environment, we all need to adapt and try to keep control on negative impact ...
While the financial impact of quarantines and shelter-in-place orders will inevitably reach into every industry and every corner of the economy, companies in the hotel, restaurant, travel, retail and manufacturing sectors have already sustained significant business interruption losses. Much of the commentary from insurers and even some government agencies has been presumptively negative about the prospects for coverage ...
Law No. 21,225 to Support Families and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises due to Covid-19 On April 2, 2020, Law No. 21,225, which materializes some of the measures of the Emergency Economic Plan announced by the Government of Chile last Thursday, March 19, was published. The measures contained in this law are the following: Family Income Support Bonus for recipients of certain family subsidies and individuals or families from the most vulnerable 60% of the population ...
Not only are healthcare providers under attack in the daily battle against the coronavirus, criminal actors are quickly taking advantage of relaxed HIPAA enforcement and standards, teleworking and the general intensity of the situation to exploit patient and other confidential information ...
In times of emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the "Secretary") has authority to issue temporary waivers or modifications of certain Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and HIPAA requirements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") has released a substantial number of waivers in response to the coronavirus national emergency ...
On March 17, 2020, the Trump administration announced an expansion of Medicare coverage for virtual health services. The Medicare expansion is intended to make medical offices more available to people who need to be seen in-person and to mitigate the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Medicare can now pay for office, hospital, and other visits furnished via virtual services across the country, including a patient’s place of residence, starting March 6, 2020 ...
Telehealth is not a new concept, but it has been accelerated to the forefront recently by government mandated social distancing. While all of the "stay-at-home" orders issued across the country to date have included exceptions that permit individuals to leave their homes to seek medical treatment, providers may feel an obligation to offer telehealth services to protect not only their patients, but also the provider's staff, and to support the national effort to "flatten the curve ...
Over the past few years, more and more companies have started publishing news content written by artificial intelligence (“AI”) algorithms. This includes Chinese technology giant, Tencent, whose rapid growth has shaped the trajectory of Naspers, the South African company that currently still owns a bit more than 30% of Tencent. Tencent publishes content produced by automated software known as Dreamwriter ...
The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted the manufacturing, transportation and supple chains underpinning countless aspects of trade and commerce on a global basis. Additionally, the shelter-in-place orders have caused nonessential businesses to shut down, resulting in many of them being unable to meet their contractual obligation. Force Majeure Whether coronavirus can be considered a force majeure depends on the wording of the provision ...
On Monday, April 6, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Call to Action Portal, which allows businesses to help their bottom line while also helping Pennsylvania fight back against COVID-19 ...
The protection of personal data has been one of the topics of analysis at the global level during the pandemic due to the expansion of SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease COVID-19. As an example, it is enough to observe the measures taken by the governments of Germany and South Korea in excessive population monitoring, or the development of applications for the location of people before the isolation measures to prevent the spread of the virus ...
As misinformation on COVID-19 continues to spread, there is another more serious threat being dispersed through back trade channels and that is of counterfeit goods either for sale at exorbitant prices or fake goods proclaiming to cure or treat the virus. In 2018, Forbes announced that counterfeiting was the largest criminal enterprise in the world[1] and the sales of counterfeit and pirated goods totals $1.7 trillion per year, which is more than drugs and human trafficking ...
Associate Partner Sarmis Spilbergs and Associate Mikijs Zimecs have prepared a sample of a Privacy Policy that may help employees to process data related to COVID-19 in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation ...
Businesses are experiencing devastating losses due to mandated restrictions and shutdowns, as well as the cancellation of events. What’s more, no one knows how long this will continue. As a result, many businesses are considering whether their insurance might provide some relief from the losses they already have incurred, or likely will incur, due to this crisis ...
Many states now have Executive Orders in place either requesting or requiring employers to allow employees to work from home to the maximum extent possible. Allowing employees to work from home is new ground for many employers, so here are a few tips an employer should keep in mind and traps to avoid in order to make the adjustment easier for all involved: 1 ...
As COVID-19 cases have continued to spread across the country resulting in government-issued “shelter in place” orders, few industries have felt the impact as swiftly and deeply as the restaurant industry. Indeed, such government orders have required restaurants to shut down all onsite dining, causing a sharp decline in restaurant revenue. According to restaurant ...
With the UAE in virtual lockdown and the majority of businesses required to operate remotely, an increasing number of documents are required to be signed electronically. Although electronic signatures were not commonly used prior to the onset of COVID-19 in the UAE, the legal framework for the use of electronic signatures has been in place for quite some time ...
