Congress is now taking steps to beef-up cyber security regulations at the federal level. The Senate introduced a bill titled the “Cyber Incident Reporting Act of 2021,” which requires covered entities—meaning an entity that owns or operates critical infrastructure—to promptly report cyber security breaches to a Cyber Incident Review Office, which then receives, aggregates, and
FTC Warns About Reviews & Endorsements
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is now using its Penalty Offense Authority to remind companies not to use fake online reviews or other deceptive endorsements and that stiff penalties (up to $43,792 per violation) will apply if they do.
The FTC sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses letter to
U.S. Copyright Office Weighs in on the Right to Repair Digital Devices
The U.S. Copyright Office (“USCO”) is expanding the right to repair digital devices via exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”)’s rules governing access to devices and software, which includes automobiles and medical devices. Enacted in 1998, the DMCA works to prohibit people from circumventing technological measures used by copyright owners to control access
Final FDA “Intended Use” Rule Goes Into Effect September 1, 2021
On September 1, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration’s final “intended use” rule will go into effect. The update is meant to clarify the “intended use” regulations for pharmaceutical products and medical devices. According to the FDA, this “should reduce manufacturer and stakeholder uncertainty regarding the scenarios in which specific types of evidence may or
Which Time Zone Controls the Timeliness of Discovery Requests at the TTAB?
In a recent precedential decision, the TTAB confronted the issue of timeliness of discovery requests served in opposition and cancellation proceedings—namely, whether Eastern Standard Time (EST) controls the timeliness of service of such discovery requests, regardless of the geographic location of the serving party. While not a particularly exciting legal issue, it is no doubt
FTC Begins Enforcing COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act
As you may recall, the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a short supply of various products. Toilet paper, alcohol wipes, hand sanitizer, masks, and even flour were in such high demand, that some consumers would need to visit half a dozen stores before finding such precious commodities. Due to these extreme shortages coupled
Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Waiver
The news cycle remains dominated by COVID-19 issues. One thing we’re watching is whether and to what extent the World Trade Organization (WTO) will waive intellectual property (IP) protections for vaccines in an attempted effort to increase global access to vaccines.
A broad proposal for waiver on enforcement of IP related to COVID-19 prevention, containment,
USPTO Refuses Washington Football Team’s Trademark Request
While the NFL’s Washington Football Team decides on a more permanent name (likely in 2022), its hopes of trademarking its current moniker have been put on ice. On June 18, 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued an initial refusal of the Team’s application to trademark “Washington Football Team,” nearly a year
The FDA Makes Plans to Update the definition of “Healthy”
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced that it will be conducting research in conjunction with a new rule they plan to roll out. The FDA update is located here. This proposed rule would update the definition of “healthy” and create a symbol for the “healthy” nutrient content claim. These updates
ICYMI: Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax
In case you missed it, Maryland became the first state back in February to pass a digital advertising services tax into law (and over the governor’s veto no less). The law, titled Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, is designed to tax annual gross revenues derived from “digital advertising services” (meaning advertisements on a digital interface