Sheppard Mullin congratulates Seema Hingorani on her award of France’s Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion d’honneur. The Order of Légion d’Honneur is the highest order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte. Seema is the first Asian American recipient of this award. Seema was recognized for her work in founding Girls Who Invest (“GWI”), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry.…
On February 24, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14017, “Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains,” requiring a review of global supply chains that support key U.S. industries in an attempt to improve supply chain security for the U.S. government and U.S. companies. The new Executive Order appears to be an initial step focused on information gathering. Comprehensive reforms and supply chain strategies are likely to follow once the White House has collected key information.…
点击此处阅读中文译文 Blockchain patent applications may be divided into two types: underlying technologies of blockchain, such as consensus methods, security, etc., and applications of blockchain in, e.g., fintech, legal, and other industries. In patent examination, the first type, because it recites underlying technology improvement, rarely elicits subject matter rejections. The second type, applications of blockchain, are often found to be directed to an abstract idea. This article analyzes a recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision in a blockchain patent application and explores drafting and prosecution strategies to anticipate subject matter scrutiny.…
In Black Diamond Aviation Grp. LLC v. Spirit Avionics, Ltd., 70 Misc. 3d 823 (Sup. Ct. Suffolk Cnty. 2020), Justice James Hudson of the Suffolk County Commercial Division limited the reach of New York’s long-arm statute, CPLR 302, in granting a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction where the contract at issue was negotiated via emails between Ohio and Connecticut and no business was performed in New York.  The plaintiff argued that the Court had jurisdiction over defendant pursuant to CPLR 302(a)(1), which provides, in pertinent part, that a party will be subject to the jurisdiction of New…
A year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, it remains to be seen how the Biden Administration will approach enforcement against businesses who received pandemic relief through the CARES Act and other federal spending packages.  Nonetheless, patterns of enforcement related to pandemic assistance in 2020 and early 2021 may provide insight into potential enforcement trends in the future.  While these cases have largely focused on small businesses that submitted fraudulent applications for relief funds (i.e. low-hanging fruit), these cases may set the stage for Department of Justice (“DOJ”) enforcement against larger companies.   For more information on enforcement actions,…
The United States is taking increasingly aggressive actions to prohibit imports from China that may have been produced by forced labor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, China has arbitrarily detained more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China’s far western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”). Muslim minorities there are reportedly subjected to forced labor, torture, and political indoctrination. In response, the United States issued Withhold Release Orders (“WROs”) on certain goods produced by specific companies in the region. In January 2021, however, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) increased its pressure on goods from…
During a March 9, 2021 industry conference, one of the four current U.S. Securities and Exchange (“SEC”) commissioners floated a new approach to calculating penalties for corporate misconduct.  Caroline A. Crenshaw, who was tapped by President Donald Trump last June to fill one of the Democratic slots on the Commission, told attendees at the Council of Institutional Investors virtual conference that the SEC needed to revisit its approach to assessing corporate penalties, and implement a new approach that tailored penalties to the “egregiousness of the actual misconduct,” accounted for all benefits of the misconduct that accrued to the corporation, and…
As the first quarter of 2021 comes to a close, cyberattacks are only gaining momentum. As we reported last month, these attacks have become big business for threat actors, and companies are working hard to be prepared. Taking stock of potential risks – and risk management techniques – can be a useful exercise in this environment. For this, tools from change management can help. Change management, particular sustainable change management, teaches us not to jump head-first into action, but first to take stock of what actions will be most helpful.…
The Situation Smart contracts are often mentioned in blockchain-themed patent applications and recited in claims. However, Examiners without a thorough understanding of this concept or unfamiliar with blockchain technology often equate smart contracts with legal or commercial contracts stored on blockchains. As a result, the Examiners may find claims directed to merely applying the blockchain technology to execute legal or commercial contracts, for example, as part of a commerce system, like hedging. See, e.g., Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S.Ct. at 2356 (citing Bilski v. Kappas, 561, U.S. 593, 611 (2010)).…
Utah’s governor recently signed into law SB 227, creating the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA). The law, which is anticipated to go into effect in May, is aimed at protecting genetic data collected from direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. Generally, the law creates requirements for (i) notice; (ii) consent for certain data uses; (iii) data security obligations; and (iv) access, deletion, and destruction rights.…
On Friday, March 26, 2021, FDA published a Federal Register notice,  “Fee rates under the Over-The-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Program for Fiscal Year 2021,” announcing 2021 fee rates under its over-the-counter (OTC) monograph drug user program.  This is the first year that FDA has collected user fees from OTC drug manufacturers and submitters of OTC monograph order requests under its new authority under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  With limited exceptions, all manufacturers of OTC drugs must pay a facility fee, which exceeds $20,000, by May 10, 2021 (45 days after publication of…
With the uptick in the pace of vaccinations and lifting of restrictions in many states over the past few weeks, a clearer picture of the road ahead is coming into focus.  In a timely discussion, Los Angeles’ Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) hosted healthcare industry leaders to share lessons learned over the past year, what’s here to stay, and what’s on the horizon.  ACG dubbed the panel “Coming up for Air: Healthcare Investing and Growth in 2021 and Beyond,” which featured leaders from various healthcare sectors, including Shane Armstrong, President and General Counsel at American Vision Partners (AVP); John …
In a prior article, we explained Senate Bill 95, which requires employers with more than 25 employees in California to provide COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick leave.  You can read it here.  SB 95 creates California Labor Code Sections 248.2 and 248.3.  It goes into effect on March 29, 2021, and applies retroactively to January 1, 2021.  This new COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law allows covered employees to take up to an additional 80 hours of paid COVID-19 related sick leave.…
California Labor Code Section 925 prohibits employers from requiring employees who reside and work primarily in California, as a condition of employment, to agree to any provision that would require the employee to litigate outside California any claim arising in California, or that would deprive the employee of the benefit of California law with respect to any claim arising in California.  Under Section 925, any such provision is voidable by the employee and if the employee exercises her right to void the provision, then any such claim shall be adjudicated in California under California law.[1]…
In the beginning of February 2020, COVID-19 seemed to have little to no impact on venture capital investing in the United States.  Fast forward a few weeks later: concerns quickly spread over the entire industry about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on venture investing, its impact on startup companies and the U.S. economy in general.  Emerging growth companies instantly went into “conserve cash mode” and applied for PPP loans.…

Subscribe

In the Know Weekly

Receieve weekly updates by email