Mondaq Most Recent Articles-26 January 2015

Protection Of The Whistleblower Act Mamo TCV Advocates The 'Protection of the Whistleblower Act' (the 'Act') which came into force on the 15th September 2013 seeks to make provision for procedures in terms of which employees	Arguing A Post-Alice §101 "Abstract Idea" Rejection During Patent Prosecution Womble Carlyle Since the Federal and Supreme Court rulings in Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., we have seen some issued patents invalidated on the grounds of patent-ineligible subject matter directed to an abstract idea under 35 USC §101, judicial exceptions (see articles on Ultramercial, patent invalidations).
Supreme Court Finds Trademark Tacking To Be A Jury Question McDermott Will & Emery On January 21, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous decision in Hana Financial, Inc. vs. Hana Bank, et. al., pertaining to a substantive trademark matter, namely, whether a judge or jury should determine if "tacking" is available to prove trademark priority in a given case.	Religious And Other Personal Beliefs – What Protection Is Granted To Employees In Québec Against Discrimination? Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP The Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (Québec Charter) as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canadian Charter) confer a right to freedom of religion and prohibit discriminatory practices based on religion.
Superior Court Reminds Attorneys About The Dangers Of A Lack Of Due Diligence Fox Rothschild LLP On Friday, the Superior Court issued a decision that should serve both as a cautionary tale to attorneys as well as and a reminder that foreign corporations must register to do business in Pennsylvania to bring an action in its courts	Earnings Call Practices: How Does Your Company Compare To Others? McDermott Will & Emery Results from the 2014 Earnings Call Practices Survey conducted by the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), a professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants, ..
It Turns Out The Statute Of Limitations Does Affect Divorce Agreements Fox Rothschild LLP A panel decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court on December 23, 2014 informs us that despite recent decisions refusing statute of limitation defenses in actions to enforce property settlement agreements, the defense still lives.	Phorum 2015 – A Great Opportunity To Showcase Your Technology Company Fox Rothschild LLP Attention all early-stage technology companies based in the Mid-Atlantic Region. This year's Phorum conference will be held on April 14, 2015 at Penn Museum in the heart of Philadelphia.
FTC Focuses On Search Terms In Settlement With Maker Of Children’s Dietary Supplements Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz The FTC recently settled a children's dietary supplements complaint with NourishLife, LLC and its owner, Mark Nottoli. Among other things, NourishLife claimed that its supplements would help children with autism spectrum disorders or apraxia to develop healthy speech and language capacity.	WilmerHale 2014 in Review WilmerHale Many of our largest matters of the past 12 months crossed disciplinary boundaries, as clients called on us to navigate multifaceted legal and strategic challenges. We worked with leading companies and financial institutions facing sensitive government investigations and related proceedings on issues ranging from high-frequency trading and market access to government contracting and whistleblower claims.
Hop On Board The Carriage (Dispute): Leave To Appeal Granted In Mancinelli v Barrick Gold Lerners Nordheimer J. recently granted leave to appeal to the Divisional Court in Mancinelli v Barrick Gold, 2014 ONSC 7431, opening the door to some much-needed guidance in the law applicable to carriage motions.	California Court Of Appeal Holds That Plaintiff May Not Collect Both Multiple Damages And Punitive Damages For Same Conduct Mayer Brown In prior posts, we have occasionally adverted to the issue of multiple punishments in the constitutional context.
Lerners Appeals Netletter Video Companion - January 2015 Lerners Brian Radnoff, partner and Practice Group Leader for the Appellate Practice Group, summarizes Lerners' Top 5 Civil Appeals cases from the Ontario Court of Appeal from December 2014.	Top 5 Civil Appeals From The Court Of Appeal (January 2015) Lerners The Court of Appeal, as always, finished 2014 with a flourish, releasing several important decisions.
Focus Antitrust - 14 January 2015 Charles Russell Speechlys LLP The CMA has found that Sonoco Products Company’s acquisition of Weidenhammer Packaging Group GmbH gives rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.	Technical Update: Re-Packed Pre-Packs? Charles Russell Speechlys LLP Pre-packs are undoubtedly controversial and arguably misunderstood by the general public owing to issues of transparency and perceived sales of businesses at an undervalue (often to the management of ‘oldco’).
Malta Seen Among Top Places To Retire For Americans CSB Group The sunny island continues to leave an impression globally. Malta has featured sixth in the index of the best places to retire for Americans.	New OFCCP FAQs Clarify Rules Regarding Collecting And Reporting Veterans Data Proskauer Rose LLP In an effort to address confusion resulting from the new VETS-4212 Form, OFCCP recently posted two new FAQs addressing issues related to collecting and reporting disclosure data.
Life Sciences And Health Care Industries Reap The Benefits Of 3-D Printing Reed Smith The past few years have seen 3-D printing – a process that involves the creation of a three-dimensional object from a pre-conceived design – evolve from a futuristic idea into a multi-billion dollar business.	New Year, New Potential For UK And European Private Placements Ropes & Gray LLP The Loan Market Association launched template documents for use in European private placement transactions.
Present Value In Lease Terms: PA Superior Court Holds Reductions In Present Value Must Be Explicitly Stated In The Lease Reed Smith On August 19, 2014, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a trial court’s decision not to reduce accelerated damages awarded to a landlord to present value...	The London Office Crane Survey - Winter 2014 - Building Momentum Deloitte A report which measures the volume of ofﬁce development taking place across central London and its impact.
Brands Update. January 2015 Sayenko Kharenko Although such practice is still rare, the recent decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine confirms the opportunity to succeed in protection of rights in the trade dress of a product...	OCIE Publishes Exam Priorities For 2015 Morrison & Foerster LLP The National Exam Program of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations published its examination priorities for 2015 this week.
Breaking The Cookie Jar? A Look At The Trend Of ‘Device Fingerprinting’ Mason Hayes & Curran A recent Opinion of the Article 29 Working Party ("WP") (WP 224) has considered the impact of what is termed "device fingerprinting".	New Year Resolutions For HR Practitioners Goodman Derrick LLP As January is often seen as the time for instigating change, we thought it would be helpful to consider some possible New Year resolutions for those of you who have HR responsibilities.
For Richer And Forever: The Marital Contract And Spousal Maintenance Goodman Derrick LLP Spousal maintenance is one of the most contentious issues between divorcing couples. How much; for how long; and what is it supposed to cover?	Notice Of Public Hearing And Consultation No. 31/2014: New Resolution - Regulations Forcconstruction, Expansion And Operation Of Storage And Transportation Facilities Of Oil, Natural Gas, Oil Products And Biofuels Tauil & Chequer The Notice of Public Hearing and Consultation No. 31/2014 of the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels ("ANP") was published on December 31, 2014, in order to propose the draft of a new Resolution to regulate the construction, expansion and operation of storage and transportation facilities for oil, natural gas, oil products, biofuels and other products regulated by the ANP ("Products"), revoking Ordinance ANP No. 170/1998 ("Ordinance").
New Jersey Supreme Court Restricts Ability To Label Workers As Independent Contractors Ford & Harrison LLP In determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee, a variety of tests have been implemented depending upon the circumstances and statutes involved.	The Valuation Process For LIHTC Projects In Financial Distress: Part II Thompson Coburn LLP This post is part of a continuing series on the Credit Report Blog on the subject of workouts and bankruptcies involving low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects.