Citing an independent cost of service study’s findings that the U.S. Government is not fully covering its costs for the processing of visas, the Department of State has announced its intention to increase visa fees. The rule, which will go into effect on June 4, 2010, would increase fees for certain non-petition-based nonimmigrant visas and some Border Crossing Cards ...
China has become the largest emerging market economy and the second largest economy in the world. As a result, many Chinese companies have elected to access the U.S. capital markets for their financing needs. As of June 2020, there are over 200 China-based issuers listed on U.S. exchanges with a collective market capitalization of over $1.15 trillion. With the rising geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S ...
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 ...
Earlier this month, President Obama announced historic changes to U.S. policy and relevant regulations regarding diplomatic engagement, travel and trade with Cuba. The White House’s new policy represents the most dramatic shift in U.S. policy to Cuba since the enactment of the embargo in 1961. As a result of this new policy, a number of sectors of the U.S. economy are likely to see new opportunities in Cuban trade ...
Like any good negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in setting out U.S. objectives for the renegotiation of NAFTA, offered only a glimpse of what the U.S. actually will be pushing for when three-country talks among Canada, Mexico and the United States begin in Washington, DC, on August 16. The U.S ...
There have been two significant new developments in the regulation of greenhouse gases (“GHG”). One is the long awaited introduction of new draft legislation that sponsors hope will bridge the disagreements that have prevented the passage of comprehensive GHG legislation. The other is the issuance, on May 13, 2010, of EPA’s greenhouse gas tailoring rule, the final piece of EPA’s multiple promulgations to commence control of GHG from stationary sources ...
The Obama Administration has announced its intention of entering into negotiations with the European Union (“EU”) for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (“TTIP”) aimed at achieving a substantial increase in transatlantic trade and investment between the world’s two largest economies. In the Federal Register of April 1, the United States Trade Representative solicited comments from the public with respect to U.S. negotiating objectives ...
On June 20, 2011, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, reversing a Court of Appeals decision that had affirmed certification of a nationwide class of 1.5 million female employees in a gender discrimination suit against Wal-Mart. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that class certification was improper because the named plaintiffs failed to satisfy the commonality requirement of Rule 23(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ...
On Monday, for the first time in history, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments via teleconference and live-streamed the conference call to the public. And, if that was not exciting enough, to kick off a planned two-week session of tele-arguments, the Court chose a case whose subject is relatable to the general public – domain names ...
In the Fall of 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “Federal Circuit”) issued a decision known to patent attorneys as “Festo.” Critics argued that Festo retroactively and severely restricted a patent holder’s rights, while proponents argued that the decision created more certainty when trying to decide whether a patent was infringed, thus significantly reducing the cost of patent litigation ...
On April 27, 2011, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion that ensures that companies will be able to enforce well-drafted class action waiver clauses in consumer contracts containing arbitration agreements – rejecting lower court decisions finding such waiver clauses to be unconscionable ...
Technology, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the U.S. Supreme Court. Its current mission: to explore strange new electronic communication devices; to boldly go where no court has gone before ...
On April 16, 2013, in a 5-4 opinion, the United States Supreme Court decided whether an offer of judgment that fully satisfies the named plaintiff’s individual claim in a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) action moots the plaintiff’s collective action claim. In Genesis HealthCare Corporation v ...
This paper focuses on the securities laws applicable to an acquisition by a U.S. company of a Canadian company (“Canadian Company” or “Target”). We will focus primarily on negotiated acquisitions of publicly traded Canadian Companies. Such cross-border business combinations are subject to regulation under U.S. federal and state securities laws, as well as the securities laws of the Canadian provinces ...
In its most important constitutional judgment ever, the UK Supreme Court has this morning confirmed that the UK Parliament in Westminster, rather than the British Government, must decide on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The Court has in this respect upheld the decision of the High Court as reported in our “Brexit Update ...
As seen in the Houston Business Journal
The historically low interest rates recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the depressed value of certain assets offer opportunities for estate planning techniques that can reduce the cost of transferring wealth to younger generations. The federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2020 is $11,580,000 per person ($23,160,000 for a married couple) ...
A recent ruling should provide some comfort for non-U.S. companies involved in U.S. trademark oppositions or cancellations. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has clarified that companies with no U.S. operations cannot easily be forced to travel to the U.S. for oral depositions. In 2007, an appeals court ruled that a foreign corporation party to a proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the USPTO can be subjected to oral deposition in the U.S ...
The Delaware Division of Corporations (the “Division”) recently announced that effective December 1, 2015, its Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) filing office will no longer accept paper UCC filings submitted directly to the State of Delaware via regular mail, courier or fax. The Division will instead require that all UCC filings be submitted to the Division electronically.To read the full alert, click here ...
Two years ago, Mexico began a process to completely change the legal framework regulating anti-corruption in the country. On May 27, 2015, a Constitutional amendment was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation to create the new framework against corruption ...
At its open meeting on September 8, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”): announced that it would not complete its rulemaking process for rules necessary to implement the Title VII swaps-related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) until 2012; and outlined a proposed sequence of rules to be considered during the remainder o
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has finalized two rules to authorize swaps (other than options) in agricultural commodities which will (i) correct existing inconsistencies, bring the regulation of agricultural swaps in line with the regulation of all other swaps under the CFTC’s jurisdiction1, and clarify that agricultural swaps may be listed or traded on swap execution facilities or designated contract markets, and (ii) provide a definition for regulatory purposes of
At its open meeting on October 18, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) adopted final rules (the “Position Limit Rules”) to establish speculative position limits for 28 physical commodity futures and options contracts (“Core Referenced Futures Contracts”) and futures, options, swap, or swaption contracts that are economically equivalent to such Core Referenced Futures Contracts (together with the Core Referenced Futures Contracts, collectively, “Referen
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), pursuant to its rulemaking authority under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”)1, has interpreted guarantees of swap agreements to fall under the definition of a swap,2 which means that any swap guarantor must be an “eligible contract participant” (“ECP”) at the time a swap is entered into (which may occur after the date on which the guarantee and related credit facility documents are entered
Now that the 60-day deadline for filing new legislation without suspension of the rules has passed, for all practical purposes all legislation that will be offered this session has now been filed. Bills that could impact Texas employers generally, are listed by bill number and contain author, the committee the bill has been referred to, and any action that has been taken. House of Representatives H.B ...
