The Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 28, 2020 signed a Notice of Extended Waiver for certain deadlines associated with patent-related filings, if the missed deadline resulted from situations relating to COVID-19. Due dates between March 27 and May 31, 2020 are extended until June 1, 2020 ...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is seeking public comment on a proposed three-track patent examination initiative that would provide applicants with greater control over the speed at which their applications are examined. The proposed initiative aims to reduce overall pendency of patent applications by providing applicants with alternative timing systems for the examination of their patent applications ...
August 21, 2023 By: Akana K. Ma On August 14, 2023, pursuant to a Presidential executive order issued several days earlier, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Proposed Rulemaking) announcing a ban on investment by U.S. persons, including U.S.-registered business entities, in three advanced technology sectors in China – quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors ...
The U.S. Department of State has released details on a proposed pilot program testing the agency’s ability to resume domestic visa renewals for certain nonimmigrant visa categories and to study the effect the program has on reducing visa wait times worldwide. The program will begin on January 29, 2024 and end on April 1, 2024 ...
On January 5, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a much-anticipated proposed rule that would make it easier for groups or associations of employers to band together to form association health plans (“AHPs”).[1] The proposed rule comes in response to an executive order issued by the White House in October 2017 directing the DOL to consider issuing such a rule ...
The U.S. Copyright Office has issued a final regulation (37 CFR §202.4) permitting a single, “group” registration for “Short Online Literary Works.” To be eligible, each of the works included in the registration “must be published as part of a website or online platform, including online newspapers, social media websites, and social networking platforms ...
On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a new version of Form I-9 with a revision date of 03/08/2013. Employers are required to use the new Form I-9 no later than May 7, 2013, for all new hires and rehires, as well as to re-verify an employee’s identity and continued employment eligibility. Employers are not required to replace prior I-9 forms that were used before May 7, 2013 ...
Like every other higher education leader, I spent most of the last 10 months reacting to the operational imperatives driven by the COVID-19 crisis. Each day presented a novel crisis, and just when we thought we’d see no more plot twists, a new one emerged. In the midst of that maelstrom and as the state’s higher education chief, I often found myself trying to find elusive time to process what these daily crises meant for our enterprise over the long term ...
There have been two recent developments regarding the False Claims Act (FCA) which will impact health care organizations that could be subject to a whistleblower lawsuit or FCA investigation. First, on May 7, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued formal guidance regarding the manner in which the DOJ would award credits to defendants that cooperate with the DOJ during an FCA investigation (the Policy) ...
As the new year started, two Department of Justice memoranda began circulating that may bring a change in the way the United States focuses its efforts in the FCA arena. The first, entitled, “Factors for Evaluating Dismissal Pursuant to 31 U.S.C ...
On June 17, the Supreme Court declined to overturn the Dual Sovereign Doctrine, maintaining individuals may be prosecuted under both federal and state law for the same criminal conduct. The Court’s decision was a loss for Petitioner Terance Martez Gamble, who had been prosecuted twice for illegal possession of a firearm, first in state court and then in federal court. In 2008, Gamble pleaded guilty to felony robbery in the state of Alabama ...
Design of the Models Taiwan law provides for two models for private parties to participate in governmental infrastructure projects. One is the model under the Government Procurement Act (“GPA Model”) and the other is the Public-Private Partnerships Law (“PPP Model”). The most significant difference between the two models lies in the funding entity ...
Australia's Federal Court finds in favour of Nine newspapers against Ben Roberts-Smith. The judgement is a win for investigative journalism and the public’s right to know. Defence was lead by Peter Bartlett, MinterEllison. Nine newspapers’ victory in the Ben Roberts Smith vs Nine defamation case strengthens a core principle of journalism, and key tenant of democracy, which is the public’s right to know ...
"What are the 'waters of the United States'? As it turns out, defining that statutory phrase—a central component of the Clean Water Act—is a contentious and difficult task." This observation, recently made by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, understates the difficulty in answering what should otherwise be an anodyne question: Does my project require a Clean Water Act permit? At this moment, answers to this question may be far from certain ...
The Trump Administration has signaled its intent to roll back the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act in an Executive Order issued on February 28. The Executive Order directs U.S. EPA and the Corps of Engineers to consider rescinding or revising the "Clean Water Rule," which defines when the Clean Water Act applies to wetlands, ponds, intermittent streams, and other water bodies that have a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters ...
It is the time of year for a good scare– but not all a welcome treat! The U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services(HHS)published a cyber-threat advisory that comes as no great surprise to healthcare providers. As all healthcare providers are focused on continuing to provide excellent care during this COVID-19 pandemic, it is unfortunate that cyber-criminals see this as an opportunity for healthcare targeted ransomware attacks ...
In On Tower UK Limited v British Telecommunications Plc [2024] UKUT 51 LC, the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) was asked to address key aspects of the Electronic Communications Code ...
Yesterday, Shoosmiths hosted an event by The Fashion Network titled ‘Trend Forecasting & Analysis Masterclass: For Fashion & FMCG Retail Business’. During this event we heard from fashion industry leaders on how the landscape of retail and marketing is ever evolving, influenced by a myriad of factors ranging from consumer behaviour to emerging technologies ...
In May 2020 the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a consultation report (the IOSCO Report) concerning its work on understanding recent developments in outsourcing and setting out proposals to update the existing IOSCO principles on outsourcing (Principles). Much has happened in the area of outsourcing since 2005 when the Principles were first developed, notably in the development of cloud services ...
On 17 December 2012 Treasury released a Consultation Paper on minimum governance standards for entities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), as well as draft Regulations and an Explanatory Memorandum on financial reporting obligations and annual information statements for such entities ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
