To guide potential trademark owners and to foster strong protection for trademarks under U.S. law, the Lanham Act; 15 U.S.C. §1052, defines the types of trademarks and service which marks can be registered by whittling away…
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/ Constitutional Law, Intellectual Property
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) ruled that a state agency has no sovereign immunity to a trademark opposition proceeding. Mountain Gateway Order, Inc. v. Virginia…
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/ Administrative Law, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Intellectual Property
On April 23rd, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued regulations that ban most non-compete agreements, while the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Rule significantly increasing the minimum salary necessary for a worker to…
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/ Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Labor & Employment Law
On March, 1, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in the case are the National Small Business Association…
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/ Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Civil Procedure, Finance & Banking
In a non-precedential opinion; In re America in Harm’s Way; Serial No. 87976064, issued on November 30, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), decided the issue of whether…
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/ Intellectual Property
The U.S. District Court for the North District of California dismissed four of six claims in a pair of cases alleging that the use by OpenAI, Inc. of the plaintiffs’ books infringed the copyrights in those books. Tremblay v…
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/ Art, Entertainment, & Sports Law, Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, Science, Computers, & Technology
In July 2023, I wrote about a trial court decision in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) that held that, contrary to the arguments of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), sales of certain crypto assets on…
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/ Business Organizations, Consumer Protection, Securities Law
The fourth installment in a multi-part series looking at the new Corporate Transparency Act describes recent updates from FinCEN to its CTA guidance as the law is set to take effect January 1, 2024. The updates include an…
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/ Business Organizations
As we say in Virginia, that dog doesn’t hunt. A recent California federal court opinion applied Virginia law to dismiss various product liability claims against a catheter manufacturer.
In Boyer v. Abbott Vascular Inc., 2023…
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/ Civil Procedure, Products Liability
Earlier this month, a federal trial court judge issued an opinion ruling on whether sales of a digital token, XRP, constituted a “security” for purposes of federal securities laws. Some headlines reporting the ruling have…
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/ Civil Procedure, Finance & Banking, Securities Law
Workplace violence has become a serious issue for employers throughout the United States. In addition to the potential civil liability and workers’ compensation liability, employers must consider the potential for OSHA citations…
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/ Health, Labor & Employment Law
Most of the time the low bidder will win a government contract. But not always. Sometimes a federal agency will make an award on a best-value trade-off basis. This process can be used “when it may be in the best interest of the…
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/ Government Contracting
Even practitioners well-accustomed to federal practice often overlook the critical rule regarding the deadline for removal when a defendant has been served through a statutory agent, an agent appointed to receive process by…
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/ Civil Procedure
Most employers are well aware that the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, (“USERRA”) requires businesses to grant protected leave to employees called to active duty or engaged in reserve training.
…
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/ Labor & Employment Law, Military Law
In the world of federal contracting, one thing is clear. When crafting a response to a Federal Government Request for Proposal (RFP), one must comply with the precise evaluation criteria contained in that document. Failure to do…
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/ Government Contracting