Laws and Regulations Updates
I. Regulations on Determination and Protection of Well-Known Trademarks
On 3 July 2014, the State Administration for Industry & Commerce promulgated an amended version of the Regulations on Determination and Protection of Well-Known Trademarks (the “Regulations”), which will formally come into effect in August of this year. The original version of the Regulations on Determination and Protection of Well-Known Trademarks (the “Original Regulations”), which was promulgated on 17 April 2003, will be abolished concurrently. More…
Monthly Archives: July 2014
ILN Today Post
July 29, 2014
SFKS Xi’an Electronic Newspaper Issue One Hundred and Thirty-Six
July 29, 2014
NLRB Drops Next Shoe On Micro-Units In Retail: Finds Bergdorf Goodman Women’s Shoe Sales Employees Not An Appropriate Unit
The NLRB finds that the women’s shoe sales employees at Bergdorf Goodman’s New York Store are not an appropriate unit for bargaining. The Board’s unanimous decision to reverse the Regional Director’s finding that the shoe sales team did constitute an appropriate unit and could have their own vote on union representation comes one week after its decision finding that a unit limited to the cosmetics and fragrance sales employees at a Macy’s in Saugus were an appropriate unit for bargaining. The Regional Directors who issued the Decisions and Directions of Election in Macy’s and Bergdorf Goodman each had relied on the Board’s Specialty Health Care decision, which is now often referred to as the “Micro Unit” decision.
July 28, 2014
The New Jersey Technology Council: Informative Discussions at the 2014 Annual Meeting
By Michelle Capezza, Ian Carleton Schaefer, and Arthur O’Brien (upSKILL Project Manager, NJIT)
The New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) is a not-for-profit, trade association which focuses on connecting decision-makers and thought-leaders from technology and technology support companies through access to financing opportunities, networking, and business support. Through its programs, the NJTC provides timely business information to help its members grow and succeed and provides forums for member companies to work together to advance New Jersey’s, and the region’s, status as a leading technology center. At NJTC’s Annual Meeting held in July at The Forsgate Country Club in Monroe, NJ, the NJTC furthered its mission by hosting a series of discussions on topics of import to today’s technology companies. The meeting was abuzz with various conversations and idea exchanges on various topics including the current U.S. patent system, forging partnerships between academic institutions and industry to meet workforce needs, early stage funding, and cloud management/hosting colocation as well as presentations from corporate CEOs regarding the challenges facing their companies.
July 28, 2014
An Unconventional Convention: Fast Food Workers Of The World Unite With SEIU Support
The New York Times reported today in its business section in article by Steven Greenhouse, who covers labor matters for the paper, about a convention taking place in Addison. The convention, underwritten by the Service Employees International Union or SEIU, which has been not very quietly backing the “Stand for Fifteen,” movement in its quest for wages of $15 per hour in the fast food field. It is probably not a coincidence that Addison is just four miles from McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Il.
July 28, 2014
Let’s Be a Little More International in Our Networking
This afternoon, I was reading an article on four suggestions for rules to follow when networking internationally. The tips are good ones (and we’ll go into more on them in a moment), but it occurred to me as I was reading that they’re actually quite good tips for all types of networking – whether you’re meeting people from other cultures, or just two blocks away.
July 28, 2014
Law Society Publishes a Report on the Introduction of Employment Tribunal Fees
The report by the law society urges government to rethink the fees introduced for employment tribunals.
The report published 28 July has said that the fees represent a major barrier to access to justice. They are also the reason for an 81% drop in the number of cases going before UK employment tribunals since the introduction of the fees in July 2013.
Convener of the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee, Stuart Naismith said:
ILN Today Post
July 28, 2014
Proposed amendments to Retirement Villages Act withdrawn
On 5 June 2014, the Government tabled provisions to amend the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (NSW) (the Act) that were scheduled to commence from 4 July 2014 with the commencement of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 (the Bill). Those changes to the Act have since been withdrawn.
The Bill commenced on 4 July 2014 without the amendments to the Act included. They had been removed by the legislative council on 18 June 2014 prior to the Bill being passed. More…
July 27, 2014
Construction Law and Litigation: Ohio Supreme Court Ruling simplifies contract drafting, negotiation, and enforcement
The Ohio Supreme Court issued its decision in Transtar Electric, Inc. v. A.E.M. Electric Servs. Corp., Slip Opinion 2014-Ohio-3095 on July 17, 2014. Although it does not change the underlying principles with respect to pay-when-paid vs. pay-if-paid provisions, the Court’s decision announces a bright-line rule that should simplify the issue.
July 25, 2014
HRSA Issues Interpretive Rule on 340b Orphan Drug in Response to Court Vacating Final Rule
By Constance Wilkinson, Alan Arville, and Jonathan Hoerner
On July 23, 2014, the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) issued an “interpretive rule” entitled “Implementation of the Exclusion of Orphan Drugs for Certain Covered Entities under the 340B Program” (the “Interpretive Rule”).[1] The Interpretive Rule follows the ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 23, 2014, that vacated the final rule previously released by HRSA on the treatment of orphan drugs under the 340B program (the “Final Rule”).[2]
July 25, 2014
Supreme Court Rules Early Dismissal of Cases Beneficial
In Quebec, Article 165 of the Code of Civil Procedure(“Code”) provides the courts of that province with a mechanism, at a preliminary stage, to put an end to actions that are bound to fail. In a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision (Canada (Attorney General) v. Confederation des syndicats nationaux, 2014 SCC 49), the court ruled that judges must be cautious in exercising this power: although the proper of administration of justice requires that the court’s resources not be expended on actions that are bound to fail, the cardinal principle of access to justice requires that the power be used sparingly, where it is clear that an action has no reasonable chance of success.
In this case, the court agreed that an action brought by the Confederation des syndicats nationaux and the Federation des travailleurs et travailleuses du Quebec (referred to collectively as the “Unions”) was bound to fail, finding that the application of the doctrine of stare decisis was fatal to it. A previous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada had settled the law on the legal issues that the action raised. That previous decision deprived the Unions’ motion to institute proceedings of any legal basis.
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