Federal Law News

The Federal Circuit Broadens Application of the Kessler Doctrine

by: Matthew C. Hurley and Philip C. Ducker

Last week, the Federal Circuit invoked the Kessler doctrine in ruling that a district court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s patent infringement suit against Amazon barred the plaintiff’s subsequent lawsuits against Amazon...

USPTO Announces Prioritized Examination Program

Announcement: USPTO COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Program

by: Jennifer M. Mikulina

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced a new prioritized examination program to expedite the examination of applications for marks used to identify qualifying COVID-19 medical products and services...

PTA Calculation Decision USPTO Supernus Case

USPTO Releases Final Rules on PTA Calculations in view of Supernus

by: Peter Corless and Carolina E.K. Säve

On June 16, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released final rules (the “Rules”) implementing changes to how Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is calculated in certain circumstances in view of ...

USPTO Releases Final Rules on PTA Calculations in view of Supernus

by: Peter Corless and Carolina E.K. Säve

Weekly IRS Roundup June 15 – June 20, 2020

by: McDermott Will & Emery

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of June 15 – June 20, 2020.

June 19, 2020: The US Tax Court...

FDA Update Comprehensive Regenerative Medicine Framework

Update on FDA’s Comprehensive Regenerative Medicine Framework: Looming November 2020 Deadline Preceded by a Flurry of Letters from CBER and a New JAMA Editorial

by: Joanne S. Hawana

As we discussed in our last update on the Food and Drug Administration’s Comprehensive...

NLRB Decision Raytheon Network Centric s Case

NLRB Explains Past Practice Analysis and ULP Defense under Raytheon Decision

by: Howard M. Bloom and Jonathan J. Spitz

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has explained the “past practice” analysis it applies in determining whether a unionized employer’s unilateral actions constitute an unlawful change under the NLRB’s decision in ...

FDA Adds QR Code to Certain Food Export Certificates

by: Food and Drug Law at Keller and Heckman

Firms exporting food products from the U.S. are often required by foreign governments and companies to provide certain assurances regarding a product’s regulatory or marketing status in the U.S. The FDA Center for Food...

Update – Processing Times for EB-5 Related Petitions

by: Dima Al-Attar

Processing times for many EB-5 related petitions continue to vary. The updated processing times are as follow:

Form I-526: Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur – 29.5 to 61 months
Form I-829: Petition by...

State Law News

Virgnia Bans Non Compete Agreements for Low Wage Employees

Virginia Prohibits Non-Compete Agreements with “Low-Wage” Workers

by: Garen E. Dodge and Nathaniel M. Glasser

Virginia may be for lovers, but it no longer loves non-compete agreements. Starting on July 1, 2020, employers may not “enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce” a non-compete agreement with any “low-wage employee.” As ...

Massachusetts Obsolete Mortgage Statute On Demand Mortgage Payments

Under Massachusetts Obsolete Mortgage Statute, Mortgage Payable “On Demand” is Enforceable for 35 Years

by: Joel Quick

The Massachusetts Appeals Court decided last week that a mortgage stating it is payable “on demand,” with no maturity date or term, is governed by the so-called obsolete mortgage statute, ...

Delaware Court of Chancery Imposes Charging Order on Distributions Related to to Defendant's LLC Membership Interest

by: Scott E. Waxman and Serena M Hamann

In GFM ELCM Fund L.P. et al. v. ELCM HCRE GP LLC et al., C.A. No. 2018-0840-SG (Del. Ch. May 18, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) and imposed an Interim Charging Order...

What ity Exactly Does The Governor Have Under The Emergency Services Act?

by: Keith Paul Bishop

California's state government is generally organized into three coequal branches - the legislative, executive and judicial. The legislature has the power to make laws and the executive has the responsibility to execute those...

A Shield for Employers: State COVID-19 Indemnity Laws

by: Brooke C. Bahlinger and Carrie Hoffman

As states begin to reopen, employers and employees alike may be worried about exposure –both to the virus itself and to liability. States have begun to act by introducing certain legislation to protect employers, who are opening in good faith and...

INTERNATIONAL LAW NEWS

UK Whistleblowing in the Employment Law Context

Post-lockdown working, Part 4 – whistleblowing for beginners (UK)

by: David Whincup

On top of the flexible working rules (see Parts 1-3), another piece of existing law likely to get a pandemic-related dusting-off in the months to come is our old friend whistleblowing.

If you face what...

COVID-19 (Australia): ASX Class Waiver to Give Effect to ASIC Reporting Relief

by: Harry Kingsley and Kaveh Zegrati

On 16 June, ASX released a class waiver decision (Class Waiver) in...

Australia COVID-19 Response; Corporations Act of 2001

COVID-19 Australia: Temporary Relaxation of Continuous Disclosure Requirements – What Does It Mean?

by: Harry Kingsley and Kaveh Zegrati

In response to the uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 crisis, the Australian Federal Government (Government) has modified the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) tempering the continuous disclosure obligations of listed...

EU White Paper on Subsidised Markets globe with EU

Progress Towards EU Control of Non-EU Subsidies: EU White Paper of 17 June 2020

by: Gillian Sproul and Simon Harms

On 17 June 2020, the European Commission published its White Paper on levelling the playing field as regards foreign subsidies. This policy paper proposes options for enabling the EU to control the use of...

Progress Towards EU Control of Non-EU Subsidies: EU White Paper of 17 June 2020

by: Gillian Sproul and Simon Harms