All Perspectives

Over time, trusts have become much more complicated. They may own a wide variety of assets, including residences, real estate, interests in family business, and interests in increasingly complex financial instruments.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced that it will be overhauling the overall assignment search experience by replacing two legacy search applications — Patent Assignment Search and Assignments on the Web — with a single, unified Assignment Search application.

In July, then-Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) announced that he would be “relinquish[ing] the gavel” to allow him to “put Georgians’ interests first.”

ACTEC Trust & Estate Talk Podcast, “Estate Planning Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) Part 2: Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) Planning Strategies Post OBBBA”

After a three month wait, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has finally caught up with the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in relaxing restrictions on trade with Syria, but this time in the export control world.

In an order filed on August 12, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled that California’s Proposition 65 cancer warning requirement for certain listed forms of titanium dioxide (airborne, unbound particles of respirable size) in cosmetics and personal care products is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

This year, the environmental agenda has focused on “deregulation” to promote industrial competitiveness, as well as a sharpened focus on energy generation and transmission to support economic growth.

In a recent alert, we highlighted the United Kingdom (UK) benchmark manipulation cases of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo from 2015 and 2019, respectively. Hayes was the first banker to be jailed in the LIBOR scandal.

Customs & Import Compliance Practice Group Leader Angela Santos was quoted on the federal appeals court’s ruling that the Trump Administration could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to authorize sweeping worldwide tariffs.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

ArentFox Schiff proudly announces its 2025 class of AFS Fellows, featuring exceptional attorneys from across our industry teams, practice groups, and offices, who will begin a three-year professional development program.

Partner Hillary Stemple was quoted in Healthcare Risk Management on a Texas district judge’s decision vacating a 2024 rule that provided added protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for reproductive health care information.

Counsel Gayland Hethcoat was quoted on the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) Risk Analysis Initiative and its heightened enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule risk analysis requirement to prevent data breaches.

Lucas A. Rock was quoted on how the ending of the de minimis tax exemption is impacting international retailers importing goods into the United States and their intended consumers.

A recent decision by the Massachusetts Superior Court in Ford v. Vacationeer, LLC, et al. confirmed that commissions are not due or payable as wages until they are definitely and arithmetically determinable, and commissions are not determinable until all contingencies in the commission pay plan have been satisfied.

Columbia Sportswear and Columbia University both use the word mark “COLUMBIA” on apparel. To prevent confusion and avoid a trademark fight, the parties entered into a co-existence agreement in 2023 to let the University keep selling school merchandise but only if it paired “COLUMBIA” with clear references to the school (for example, “University,” the school shield, or “1754”).

Health Care Practice Leader Douglas Grimm was quoted on the growing interest among employers in direct primary care models and the financial predictability these models offer compared to traditional insurance.

On August 11, the California Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court addressing the interplay between the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and California’s statutory requirements for timely payment of arbitration fees in employment and consumer disputes.

Certain businesses implement dynamic pricing based on individual preferences or previously collected consumer data. This practice may soon be prohibited in New York if those websites fail to state, “THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA.”

On August 5, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a significant change in its vaccine development strategy, ending its support for mRNA vaccine projects under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Protecting trade secrets in the beverage and food industry requires planning and forethought from the outset of product development. Attempting after the fact to plug the holes in the company’s safeguards can be the path to a very expensive failure. A recent case from Wisconsin provides a vivid example of what can go wrong.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

A North Carolina federal court’s recent order granting remand in the case Nash Hospitals, Inc. v. UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina, Inc., et al., No. 5:25-CV-28-FL underscores the limits of federal question jurisdiction in disputes arising from health care provider-payer agreements, particularly where the claims are grounded in state law and do not necessarily require resolution of a substantial federal issue.

Chairman Anthony Lupo and Fashion Group Co-Leader Michelle Mancino Marsh discussed the complexities and intellectual property (IP) concerns arising from the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) in the fashion and retail industry. “AI will be a sea change not just for the fashion industry but for society as a whole,” Tony said.