Alerts

Five Questions, Five Answers

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already transforming the way we live and work. Within two months of its initial release to the public, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history.

Artist KAWS obtains a judgment for $3.35 million dollars and a permanent injunction against international infringers, highlighting the power of IP protection and providing valuable lessons for fellow creators navigating copyright and trademark battles.

As we previously reported, the new Major League Baseball (MLB) collective bargaining agreement, finalized in early 2022, allows MLB teams to license sponsor logo patches on team jersey sleeves and sponsor logo decals on team batting helmets beginning with the 2023 season.

The US Supreme Court brushed aside novel assertions from two pharmacy retailers on June 1 and ruled unanimously that False Claims Act liability hinges on whether defendants subjectively believed their claims were “false.”

Earlier this month, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan overturned a jury verdict of nearly $105 million against Ford Motor Company for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Already among the most widely used battery chemistry, lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries are experiencing a rapid increase in use and demand.

During the G7 meeting in Japan on May 19, 2023, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published two new rules aimed at further restricting Russia’s ability to obtain items needed to support its war efforts against Ukraine.

Addressing environmental justice (EJ) issues has been a primary concern for the Biden Administration. Recent developments — one in Chicago and one in Louisiana — show different ways local and state regulators have reacted to federal EJ efforts.

Telehealth experienced massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, due in no small part to various regulatory and reimbursement policies that federal agencies implemented.

On May 30, 2023, Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), published a controversial enforcement memorandum.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

On May 26, 2023, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Federal Register notice seeking public comments on anti-counterfeiting and antipiracy strategies to better address this enormous US challenge.

There are major issues arising from the phaseout of the US Dollar London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which will soon become apparent in connection with LIBOR’s fast-approaching end date. This will dramatically impact many issuers, holders, and trustees of variable rate notes and bonds.

On May 31, 2023, the Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags filed antidumping duty (AD) petitions on certain paper shopping bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Many major companies have announced a blueprint to minimize their carbon footprint. Some companies have gone so far as to proclaim that they will achieve “net zero” emissions in the near future. To accomplish their climate goals, many have turned to purchasing products called “carbon offset credits.

In this podcast, Birgit Matthiesen speaks with Bob Kirke, the Executive Director of the Canadian Apparel Federation, who will share the very latest about Canada’s efforts to ban imports suspected of having been made with forced and child labor.

A panel of the DC Circuit ruled in a split decision that a provision that required a non-profit simply to “direct” certain executives not to disparage a former employee could be held liable for negative remarks made about the departed employee by the CEO.

In a closely watched environmental Clean Water Act (CWA) case, the US Supreme Court adopted a far narrower construction of CWA’s definition of “waters of the United States,” functionally shifting significant authority over water-related issues from the federal government to the states.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) longstanding policy strongly favored manual representation elections. With the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, the Board began permitting mail-ballot elections under the “extraordinary circumstances” exception to its manual ballot preference.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in recent years has been accompanied by a surge in patent filings by AI developers. But like many other emerging technologies before it, AI inventions face patent eligibility challenges.

Federalism — the allocation between federal and state governments — is at the heart of American constitutional law.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a resource outlining potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) for employers who utilize algorithmic decision-making technologies to make employment decisions.

On May 16, 2023, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill banning noncompetition agreements. The bill is expected to be signed shortly by Governor Tim Walz. The ban is set to take effect on July 1, 2023, and is not retroactive.