Articles

09.20.16

Crowdfunding Real Estate Commands Cautious Excitement

The ubiquity of crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter, coupled with Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act going into effect earlier this year and opening up public, online crowd capitalism, made it almost inevitable that crowdfunding platforms geared towards real estate ...


09.20.16

FCC's Robocall Strike Force Meets, Considers Solutions

The Federal Communications Commission held its first meeting of the Robocall Strike Force, with more than 33 companies and organizations represented for the concerted effort to strike out robocalls. An industry-led Strike Force group committed “to developing comprehensive solutions to ...


09.15.16

Antitrust Issues Under the New York DSRIP Process

The unfolding process in the New York Medicaid Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program (DSRIP), the work of the resulting regional Performing Provider Systems, and the move towards value-based payments with health plans, is all predicated on certain assumptions. Those assumptions include, ...


09.15.16

As California Burns, Costs Trump Safety

Wildfires in the West, and particularly in California, have been a recurring story as the severe drought has made the area even more susceptible to major fire events. Most recently the Blue Cut fire in Southern California forced the evacuation of 80,000 people, destroyed over 100 homes as well as ...


09.15.16

New York DFS Issues $180M BSA/AML Penalty

New York’s banking regulator cracked down on enforcement of the state’s anti-money laundering (AML) law, issuing a $180 million penalty against Mega International Commercial Bank of Taiwan (Mega Bank) for past violations and requiring an independent monitor going forward.What ...


09.15.16

Tenth Circuit: Color + Pattern = Trademark Protection

In the context of product packaging, color can only be distinctive for trademark purposes when combined with a shape, pattern, or design, the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled when holding that on its own, a color scheme is not "inherently distinctive" enough for legal ...


09.13.16

WADA Is "Broken" and Should Be Replaced

One sure way to tell the weakness of an organization is to see what its supporters are saying about it. By that standard, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is very weak indeed.For example, although WADA is half funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), 84 out of 85 IOC members in ...


09.09.16

Environmental Justice Takes Center Stage in Climate Change Legislation

In the final weeks of this year’s legislative session, the California Legislature struck far-reaching agreements on climate-change legislation at a time when it wasn’t clear that the political will existed for such a deal.The Legislature first passed a pair of measures that would extend ...


09.08.16

The Federal Circuit Allows Petitioners to Submit New Evidence After the Start of an Inter Partes ...

In June the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected Genzyme Therapeutics Products’ argument that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) decision to invalidate two patents for the treatment of a rare genetic muscle condition violated the Administrative Procedure ...


09.08.16

Jury Should Decide Validity of Mental Fitness Exam Request

Why it matters Whether the employer's requirement that an employee undertake a mental fitness exam violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) should be decided by a jury, a California federal court has ruled. Several workers complained to the human resources department at a university ...