In Patrón Spirits International AG v. Conyngham Brewing Company, the Applicant sought registration of the mark PIRATE PISS for “beer, ale, and lager” in International Class 32.   Opposer Patron had opposed the application based on its ownership of the previously registered marks PYRAT and PYRAT RUM for distilled spirits and rum in International Class 32.  View Full Post
On June 19, 2018, unannounced ICE raids resulted in the arrest of more than 140 workers at four meat processing plants in Ohio. ICE calls this its largest workplace raid in recent history. According to Fresh Mark, it is a member of ICE’s voluntary IMAGE (ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers) Program. View Full Post
As we reported last December, the NLRB, in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017), reversed its workplace rule standard under Lutheran Heritage.  Specifically, instead of assessing whether an employee could “reasonably construe” a workplace rule as barring the exercise of rights under the NLRA, the new test will evaluate the nature and extent of the potential impact on NLRA rights and the legitimate justifications associated with the rule.  View Full Post
Cyber-Attacks: Does Company Size Matter? It’s no secret that as time goes on, we as consumers are witnesses to groundbreaking technology that is changing how we interact with the world. These advances include easy access to broadband internet for all. Now, it’s common for organizations to use a vast array of hardware and software to help complete vital business goals. View Full Post
Blockchain is a revolutionary technological tool in the way it tracks and stores data, decentralizes information, establishes trust in electronic files, and dispenses of intermediaries. This technology powers virtual currencies, also known as cryptocurrency or virtual tokens. Companies are raising money using “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) and using tokens to compensate and incentivize founders, directors, employees, and consultants. View Full Post
Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown have sent a letter to Kathy Kraninger, President Trump’s nominee for CFPB Director, seeking documents and other information about Ms. Kraninger’s role in the development and implementation of the Trump Administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy for individuals attempting illegal entry into the United States. View Full Post
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Department) recently issued a notice proposing to terminate the international entrepreneur parole program (IE Program) in accordance with Executive Order 13767, entitled Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements, because the IE Program represents an overly broad interpretation of the Department’s parole authority, lacks sufficient protections for U.S. View Full Post
Oregon Cannabis: The Week that Was No shortage of cannabis news in Oregon. Here we are a few years into legalization of recreational cannabis sales in Oregon, and it’s never a dull moment. Over the past week or so, there have been no fewer than three significant developments around the state with respect to marijuana law and policy. View Full Post
Earlier this month, in a case challenging the denial of permits to erect a homeless “tent city” in front of a former elementary school in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, a federal magistrate judge dismissed the organizers’ First Amendment claim.  While one count of the plaintiffs’ complaint will move forward, the order dismisses all of the plaintiffs’ federal claims. View Full Post
The White House announced over the past weekend that the president will nominate Kathy Kraninger to serve as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Little is known about Kraninger, currently an associate director who oversees the budget of the Department of Homeland Security at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). View Full Post
We are moving into uncharted waters with the Trump Administration’s announcement that the U.S. will move forward to impose $50 billion in tariffs against a wide range of Chinese products, with the first tranche of $34 billion beginning on July 6; as well as tariffs against Canadian, Mexican, European and Japanese steel and aluminum imports.  View Full Post
Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for hospices if they have a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course. And, while providers can take an objective set of characteristics (FAST score, PPS, hospitalizations, MAC, etc.) and predict life expectancy for a population around an average, no one has come close to perfecting the practice. View Full Post
Bobblehead: “A figurine with a disproportionately large head mounted on a spring so that it bobs up and down, often made as a caricature of a famous person.” Giveaway: “A thing that is given free, especially for promotional purposes.” Sales tax: “The portion of the purchase price typically forgotten about.  View Full Post
It has been a few weeks since the publication of the Trump Administration’s Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices, and Secretary Azar’s  Request for Information (RFI) on the Blueprint.  We previously posted about the Blueprint’s focus on the 340B Drug Discount Program. View Full Post
Legal directories have been both valuable, and a source of frustration, for lawyers and in-house counsel alike. Recently, a new directory appeared on the scene, threatening to disrupt what we’ve all been accepting for the last several decades – Top 3 Legal. View Full Post
The Competition Act (‘Act’) is first and foremost national in its focus. This is clear from its objects set out in the Act’s Preamble and Purpose. Although the Act makes reference to international law obligations, participation in world markets and the role of foreign competition in the Republic, to look at the role of South Africa in competition law’s global village, the key is not to be found in that language, but rather in the continuing development and application of South Africa’s competition policy. View Full Post