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The Legal Brief

Coronavirus/COVID-19

Federal Circuit to Consider the Patentability of AI-Created Inventions

Artificial intelligence (AI) utilizes technology to complete activities that normally require human intelligence.[1] AI technology increasingly plays a substantial role in our everyday lives, whether it be playing an online game of checkers against the computer, using an online language translator, or driving an autonomous vehicle.[2] With AI technology’s increasing prevalence, legal questions…

News on New Federal COVID Vaccine Rules

Read about the new COVID Rules in these two blogs:

 

CMS Issues Draft Interim Final Rule Regarding Mandatory COVID Vaccines

 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a draft of its long-awaited interim final rule (“IFR”) regarding mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations, which is expected to be formally published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021. Read more here.

 

Long…

Coronavirus Relief Package Offers New Trademark Rules

The president signed into law a multi-trillion-dollar spending and relief package which includes the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TM Act of 2020), making several technical changes to the Lanham Act. The new rules could fundamentally alter how intellectual property owners protect and enforce their rights.

In the United States, with some limited exceptions, a trademark must be used to…

Indiana Governor Issues Executive Order Requiring Face Masks

At 12:01 a.m. today, Governor Holcomb’s Executive Order requiring face coverings went into effect. The Order is in response to an increase in the number of cases and positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in Indiana. Specifically, the Order requires every individual within the State of Indiana to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth when:

  1. inside a business, public building, or other indoor…

Colorado Last Call News

Colorado state government has made significant changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From passing new laws on workplace safety and paid leave, to issuing a statewide mandate that people wear facemasks in public spaces. However, even as these changes have gone into effect the state has continued to see a rise in COVID-19 cases. The increases are not as stark as some other states, including…

Colorado Statewide Mask Order

In the midst of a resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States and in those states bordering Colorado, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued a statewide mask order on July 16, 2020. Referring to studies projecting that the resurgence in COVID has a potential to overwhelm Colorado’s ICU beds by September, Polis announced that this took effect on Friday, July 17, 2020 at midnight.

The order mandates…

Colorado Passes New Sick Leave Law

On Tuesday July 14, 2020, Colorado enacted an expansive new law regarding paid sick and family leave that will have impacts on employers across the state with both union and nonunion workforces. The law expands upon federal paid sick leave that was part of the early response from Congress to the pandemic. The law expands requirements for employers to offer paid sick leave, and the reasons…

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC): What We Know to be Facts vs. What We Need to Find Out (Third In A Series)

As discussed in the first two entries in this series of four, while COVID-19 has many organizations focused on other priorities, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) remains to be phased into DoD contracts beginning July 1, 2020. It is important that all affected organizations continue to prepare for the requirements. The U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) released version 1.0 of…

CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE JULY 1ST ENFORCEMENT (Second In A Series)

As we discussed in this series’ first entry, the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 forced many companies to shift focus to immediate financial and operational issues to keep their businesses afloat, which may have resulted in certain initiatives (such as corporate compliance matters) being put on temporary hold. However, the pandemic did not affect the July 1, 2020 enforcement deadline for the…

Data Privacy/Data Security Laws Are Set to be Enforced - Are You Ready? (First In A Series)

Almost all businesses have been impacted in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic. Uncertainty, often coupled with an abrupt business interruption, forced many executives to put their company’s initiatives on temporary hold. The pandemic did not affect the July 1, 2020 enforcement deadline for the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”),…

Higher Education Institutions the Target of Class-Action Lawsuits Amidst COVID-19 Response

In March, many higher education institutions made the difficult decision to send students home to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus and implemented distance learning techniques such as video lectures and online modules to finish the current semester. Forty-one states followed up with orders forcing most non-essential businesses to close or restrict access. Now, after students were sent home…

Craving the spa, gym time, or a haircut: What are you willing to waive in return?  

As a result of Governor Justice’s most-recent Executive Order, West Virginia businesses are beginning to reopen. For those of us who have not had a haircut, gone to the gym, or shopped in a retail store since March, this is good news. We can now stop watching YouTube videos on how to cut and dye our own hair. We can also stop fretting over whether we should purchase a Peloton or set up a home…

 

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