Alerts

The alleged descendants of Aunt Jemima (a.k.a. Anna Short Harrington) do not have a valid claim to the great syrup fortune of Pepsi and Quaker Oats, according to a recent ruling by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit clarified the “use in commerce” requirement for trademark applications filed in connection with the provision of a service.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas (Bankruptcy Court) declined to grant comity to a decision of the Mexican labor board thereby refusing to recognize a foreclosure sale of assets belonging to Elcoteq, Inc., a US corporation in US bankruptcy proceedings.

There was good news for those companies that have products with unique designs at the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The PTO found that the design of a monster truck could be protected and registered as trade dress for the “services” offered by the owner.

The stakeholder engagement process supporting the Obama Administration’s plans to develop a National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (NAP) is well underway. Two stakeholder meetings have already occurred in New York City and Berkeley, California.

In a recent case, a Virginia trial court has joined other states in opening the door to lawsuits by disappointed beneficiaries who can demonstrate that the testator’s lawyer’s malpractice caused the beneficiary to receive a smaller bequest than intended by the testator.

The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Jaffé v. Samsung Electronics Co.[2], leaving undisturbed the Fourth Circuit’s holding.

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a Warning Letter to L’Oreal USA for marketing its cosmetic products, “Rosalic AR Intense” and “Mela-D Pigment Control,” with claims deemed by FDA to be drug claims.

Based on recent votes in Congress, the possibility of a partial shutdown of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities for at least a brief period of time is looming larger. On February 27, 2015, Congress extended DHS funding for one week.

The Federal Trade Commission announced this week that it settled with two marketers of mobile medical apps — New Consumer Solutions LLC and Health Discovery Corp. — for claiming that their MMAs (Mole Detective and MelApp, respectively) could diagnose melanoma from photographs of the users’ moles.

Alstom SA’s release today from World Bank sanctions ensures that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will not impose an independent corporate monitor under its recent settlement with the company.

March 1 is fast approaching. It is the deadline for consumer and commercial product companies to complete an electronic submission to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) “2013 Consumer and Commercial Products Survey” (Survey).

The US National Contact Point recently issued a Final Statement regarding complaints by two international labor unions that Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) engaged in conduct inconsistent with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines).

On January 28, 2015, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced respective companion food safety legislation in the Senate (S.287, the “Safe Food Act of 2015”) and House (HR.609).

President Barack Obama recently released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, and municipalities, sports franchises, and owners of sports and entertainment facilities across the country will pay special attention to one line in particular.

The long-awaited final Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) provisions modifying the Human Trafficking regulations were published on January 29, 2015.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a draft guidance entitled “Transfer of a Premarket Notification (510(k)) Clearance — Questions and Answers — Draft Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff.”

In September 2014, Arent Fox reported about a US court case with which every corporate officer of a company doing business in the United States should become familiar.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a draft guidance document announcing that it does not intend to regulate low-risk products intended for general wellness only as medical devices.

Many companies and other stakeholders have chosen to participate in the United Nations (UN) Global Compact as a means of demonstrating their commitment to integrating universal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles into their business practices.

Arent Fox filed an amicus brief for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in the 9th Circuit matter Teixeira v. County of Alameda.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations can lead to significant collateral consequences.

The last decade has seen enormous growth in the human tissue products industry, following the Food and Drug Administration’s establishment, in 2001, of a tiered approach to the regulation of these products (referred to as “human cells, tissues and cell- and tissue-based products,” or “HCT/Ps”).

On January 12, 2015, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a proposed regulation to revise the required warning statement for products containing chemicals listed by the state under Proposition-65 (Prop-65).