Alerts

On March 24, 2015, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed into law S.B. 426, the Fair and Open Competition in Governmental Construction Act.

On March 24, 2015, the Supreme Court issued its much anticipated second trademark decision of the term, holding that US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decisions concerning likelihood of confusion generally have preclusive effects in federal court.

In the non-precedential ruling, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or Board) found that the marks “MASQUERADE” and “MASCARADE” are likely to be confused for different alcoholic beverages. In re 8 Vini, Inc., Serial No. 85857391 (January 16, 2015) [not precedential].

The second installment from Birgit Matthiesen for a planned series of cross-border trade updates.

A recent Delaware District Court decision concerning an appeal of a bankruptcy settlement clearly provides support for the use of tender offers or other exchange, or settlement mechanics permitted under applicable federal securities laws prior to and outside a plan of reorganization.

The New York Court of Appeals recently held in Ellington v. EMI Music, Inc. that the term “affiliates” in a copyright renewal agreement referred only to affiliates existing at the time of contract execution.

The Second Circuit in Krys v. Farnum Place denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc by Appellee Farnum Place, LLC , a hedge fund that sought to protect its purchase of a $230 million claim against the bankruptcy estate of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

A recent ruling in California US District Court will severely curtail the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort actions based on exposure to chemicals listed under California’s Proposition 65 (Prop 65) as chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects.

The alleged descendants of Aunt Jemima (a.k.a. Anna Short Harrington) do not have a valid claim to the great syrup fortune of Pepsi and Quaker Oats, according to a recent ruling by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit clarified the “use in commerce” requirement for trademark applications filed in connection with the provision of a service.

There was good news for those companies that have products with unique designs at the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The PTO found that the design of a monster truck could be protected and registered as trade dress for the “services” offered by the owner.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas (Bankruptcy Court) declined to grant comity to a decision of the Mexican labor board thereby refusing to recognize a foreclosure sale of assets belonging to Elcoteq, Inc., a US corporation in US bankruptcy proceedings.

The stakeholder engagement process supporting the Obama Administration’s plans to develop a National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (NAP) is well underway. Two stakeholder meetings have already occurred in New York City and Berkeley, California.

In a recent case, a Virginia trial court has joined other states in opening the door to lawsuits by disappointed beneficiaries who can demonstrate that the testator’s lawyer’s malpractice caused the beneficiary to receive a smaller bequest than intended by the testator.

The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Jaffé v. Samsung Electronics Co.[2], leaving undisturbed the Fourth Circuit’s holding.

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a Warning Letter to L’Oreal USA for marketing its cosmetic products, “Rosalic AR Intense” and “Mela-D Pigment Control,” with claims deemed by FDA to be drug claims.

Based on recent votes in Congress, the possibility of a partial shutdown of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities for at least a brief period of time is looming larger. On February 27, 2015, Congress extended DHS funding for one week.

The Federal Trade Commission announced this week that it settled with two marketers of mobile medical apps — New Consumer Solutions LLC and Health Discovery Corp. — for claiming that their MMAs (Mole Detective and MelApp, respectively) could diagnose melanoma from photographs of the users’ moles.

Alstom SA’s release today from World Bank sanctions ensures that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will not impose an independent corporate monitor under its recent settlement with the company.

The US National Contact Point recently issued a Final Statement regarding complaints by two international labor unions that Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) engaged in conduct inconsistent with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines).

March 1 is fast approaching. It is the deadline for consumer and commercial product companies to complete an electronic submission to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) “2013 Consumer and Commercial Products Survey” (Survey).

President Barack Obama recently released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, and municipalities, sports franchises, and owners of sports and entertainment facilities across the country will pay special attention to one line in particular.

On January 28, 2015, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced respective companion food safety legislation in the Senate (S.287, the “Safe Food Act of 2015”) and House (HR.609).

The long-awaited final Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) provisions modifying the Human Trafficking regulations were published on January 29, 2015.