On 1 March 2012, Google launched a new privacy policy by consolidating over 60 of its global privacy policies into one document. The new privacy policy does not indicate that Google will collect any new or additional data about users. What it does do, however, is inform people that Google will merge data which it already collects from services such as YouTube and Web History (which records all searches performed on Google ...
With the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) grace period for enforcing the new cookies rules almost at an end, companies should work with their website developers at an early stage to ensure compliance. The ICO will soon be confirming that its 12 month ‘lead in’ implementation period has come to an end. Website operators then run the risk of enforcement action and fines if they fail to comply with the new cookies regime ...
A trubunal has ruled that an employee was fairly dismissed for makng vulgar comment to female colleague on his facebook page while at home. A recent decision from a tribunal in Northern Ireland held that an employee was fairly dismissed because comments which he posted on his Facebook page amounted to harassment of a female colleague and was in breach of the employer’s Dignity at Work Policy ...
The Fourth Circuit has just released its highly anticipated keyword advertising decision in Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google Inc., No. 10-2007 (4th Cir. Apr. 9, 2012), vacating much of a district court order favorable to Google ...
In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus to give to mankind. It seems that Zeus is now reclaiming some of that fire in the guise of Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., No. 10-1150 (U.S. Mar. 20, 2012), the Supreme Court’s latest decision addressing patent-eligible subject matter. But a practical analysis of Prometheus reveals strategies one can use in drafting patent claims to keep those claims burning ...
The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a $44 million judgment against Tuomey Hospital in Sumter, South Carolina that arose from Tuomey’s employment arrangements with physicians that allegedly violated the federal Stark Law.1 The Stark Law prohibits hospitals from submitting claims to Medicare for designated health services that were referred by physicians with whom the hospital has a financial relationship, unless the relationship fits within an exception ...
After three days of historic oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the momentous 2010 health reform law, is uncertain, given robust questioning of the ability of Congress to force individuals to purchase health insurance ...
Law no.11/2012 of 8 March establishes new rules for prescription and dispensing of medicines. Prescriptions for medicines must now include the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) of the active substance,its pharmaceutical form, the dosage, the presentation and the posology. The prescription may also include a trade name by brand or indication of the name of the holder of the marketing authorisation ...
Today, Google have made the very interesting (but arguably provocative) move of completely rejecting the French data protection regulator's request to put a hold on the implementation of proposed changes to its privacy policies. In doing so it has become the subject of a Europe-wide investigation. What has changed? Up until today, the information collected by Google on each of its platforms, such as Gmail and YouTube, was kept separate ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 16, 2012 proposed rules1 implementing Section 6402(a) of the Affordable Care Act,2 requiring persons to report and return Medicare overpayments by the later of 60 days after an overpayment is identified or the date any corresponding cost report is due. Twice in the past, CMS had proposed rules requiring the return of Medicare overpayments, but did not finalize the regulations ...
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun the pilot phase of HIPAA privacy and security audits of health care providers, health insurers and health care clearinghouses (“covered entities”) to assess HIPAA compliance efforts. Up to 150 covered entities will be subject to the initial audits, to be conducted by KPMG, LLP, the OCR audit contractor ...
In its judgment of 19 January 2012 (case no. 08332/11), the Southern Central Administrative Court, decided that INFARMED - Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde, I.P. (the national authority for medicines and healthcare products), is obliged to issue a certificate of subsidisation of the price of a medicine even when the person requesting the issue of the certificate was not the person who applied for the subsidy ...
In connection with the recent changes in legislation in the field of health, the Federal Commission for protection against health risks ("Cofepris") has taken various actions against the sale, distribution and advertising of the so-called "miracle products," which are distributed without scientific evidence to demonstrate its therapeutic properties ...
Starting tomorrow, organizations may start submitting applications for new gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains). The application window will close on April 12, 2012. The new gTLDs move well beyond the core group of generic top level domains of .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .edu. Specifically, they can consist of any combination of three or more letters that an applicant chooses ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed the start date for data collection of payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals by drug and device manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs). Under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (the “Sunshine Act”), such payments were to have been recorded beginning on January 1, 2012 ...
Given the ongoing worldwide economic concerns and discussion of another recession, it is hard to believe that major provisions of the 2009 Stimulus Act impacting employers have yet to be fully implemented ...
Medicaid providers will be subject to new audits by Medicaid Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), beginning in January 2012. These new audits will be in addition to existing audits being conducted by Medicare RACs, Medicaid Integrity Contractors (MICs) and Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), among others.1 The Medicaid RAC audits, mandated as part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Health Reform Act), are expected to result in the recovery of $2 ...
If your trademarks and business names contain letters with accents and you are the owner of domain names linked with them, it is important to familiarize yourself with the following. With a view to offering owners the possibility of registering domain names that comply with French spelling, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (the « CIRA »), the organization that manages the register of ...
Super injunctions and online libel revisited--Injunctions are ‘pointless’, ‘unbelievably expensive’ and counterproductive because ‘there’s an assumption of guilt about which you can do nothing...’ These are just some of the frustrated words of Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson when he abandoned his super injunction (obtained in September 2010 to silence rumours he had an affair with ex-wife Alexandra Hall, whilst married to current wife Frances) on 26 October 2011 ...
On 10 October 2011 the Council of Ministers of the European Union approved a new Directive on consumer rights in the European Union. This directive is aimed at strengthening the rights of consumers in all Member States of the European Union by bringing uniformity to the rules applicable to all European citizens with a special focus on the online shopping sector ...
Under final rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) will continue to face large start-up costs and uncertain savings, despite a decreased regulatory scheme and increased financial incentives ...
On June 20, 2011, in Singapore, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the global coordination company for Internet addresses, approved the new program for the thematic extension of gTLDs. This program will certainly lead to significant growth in the number of domain names (gTLDs) on the Internet ...
On June 20, 2011 in Singapore, ICANN ( Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the global co-ordination body for Internet addresses, approved the new program for the thematic extension of GTLDS. This program will certainly lead to significant growth in the number of domain names (GTLDS) on the Internet ...
The Hungarian Parliament enacted Act no CXII of 2011 on Information Rights and the Freedom of Information ("New Data Protection Act"), which will replace the currently effective Act no LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Publication of Data of Public Interest ("Old Data Protection Act") from 1 January 2012. Below, we briefly summarize the main changes brought about by the New Data Protection Act ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) have responded to the U.S. Senate’s request for information on physician-owned distributorships (PODs). Earlier this summer, a bi-partisan U.S. Senate committee asked CMS and the OIG to study the proliferation of PODs, citing a lack of regulatory guidance on how these arrangements square with existing federal law ...
