JD Supra Morning Brief : Fracking Water, Distracted Driving, Virtual Currency, Bank Fraud

On May 17, 1943, the US Army contracted with the University of Pennsylvania to develop the ENIAC, the first computer. Thanks, guys!

Tired of practicing law? Go home and practice the guitar… (Bloomberg Law) 

The amount of freshwater used by the fracking industry is less than that used by golf courses. But it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to worry about… (Looper Reed) 

Keep up the fight, FTC! (Ballard Spahr) 

OSHA wants to end texting behind the wheel, and they’ve turned to employers for help (Dentons)  

The wild, wild west of virtual currency? Not really… (Pillsbury) 

Today’s FCPA charges are brought to you by … Wall Street! (Corporate Law Report) 

Add bank fraud to the list of federal crimes committed by legal medical marijuana dispensaries… (Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph) 

Another Facebook firing bites the dust… (Orrick) 

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JD Supra Morning Brief: Dodd-Frank, Spider-Man, Paperless Visas, Money Transfers

Nothing like a long weekend of Bitcoin farming to make you appreciate heading back to the office on a Monday morning…

If Dodd-Frank already fixed “Too Big To Fail,” why do we need another law? (Bloomberg Law) 

Sleep easy, America: “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” won’t be going dark anytime soon… (Foley Hoag) 

How’s that transition to a paperless I-94 going? Well, it’s complicated… (Dinsmore) 

Yours, mine, and … mine again. And I’m pretty sure that one’s mine, too (Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates) 

Everything you need to know about social media password protection and privacy in the workplace (Littler) 

Coming to America: the manufacturing edition. Brought to you by the US fracking industry… (King & Spalding) 

Yeah, but it’s going to be a lot harder to turn the city around now that wrestling is off the agenda… (Foley & Lardner) 

Mistreated by a money transfer company? Tell the CFPB… (Davis Wright Tremaine) 

Sacré bleu – theft of trade secrets could become a crime in France… (Orrick) 

Small and mid-sized companies face important cybersecurity risks, too (Carr, McClellan, Ingersoll, Thompson & Horn) 

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JD Supra Weekend Reader: Online Gambling, Digital Goods, Cretaceous Park, Appropriation Art

Quitting time? Not quite. But if you sneak out early with your iPad, you can call it “legal research” (and call it a day). We won’t tell a soul…

Is it ever NOT a good idea to delete a social media account? (JD Supra Law News) 

Fire up the laptop – Daddy needs a new pair of shoes! (Jeff Ifrah) 

Think you want to invest in Bitcoins? Read this first… (Pepper Hamilton) 

Maybe if they’d spent a little less time at the hookah and a little more time reading their cable contract, they wouldn’t be in this situation… (Varnum) 

Will it ever be legal to sell digital goods? (JD Supra Legal Perspective) 

FMLA leave test: does taking my pregnant girlfriend’s mother to the doctor count? (Davis Brown) 

Take Your Dog to Work Day? Really? (Bean, Kinney & Korman) 

The Video Privacy Protection Act has finally caught up with the 21st century… (Carr, McClellan, Ingersoll, Thompson & Horn) 

Businesses are now free to put the “charge” back in charging to a credit card… (Schnader) 

We’ve already bought our tickets for a stay at Cretaceous Park… (MBHB) 

Yes, jerk.com, cheaterville.com, and datingpsychos.com are real websites. Here’s what to know if you end up on one… (Duane Morris) 

Yes Rasta appropriation is art, says appeals court #Irie (Foley Hoag) 

Mistaken eyewitness identification has underpinned 75% of the convictions overturned by DNA analysis… (Raiser & Kenniff) 

A glimmer of hope for online merchants? (Dinsmore) 

Remember Jeffrey Skilling? He’s been toiling for a reduced sentence since he went to jail in 2006 – and his efforts may be successful… (Jeff Ifrah) 

Ah yes – the ole “she tricked me into firing her” defense… (Cozen O’Connor) 

Even a guilty person can suffer a miscarriage of justice… (The Kaiser Law Firm) 

Employer background checks? There’s a proposed class action for that (Saul Ewing) 

What’s new in say-on-pay trends and litigation developments? Funny you should ask… (Skadden Arps) 

Fair play? A federal court of appeals just granted a publisher a perpetual license in a video game due to the developer’s fraudulent conduct and egregious breach of a game development agreement (Pillsbury) 

Hey – we can all dream, can’t we? (Reed Smith) 

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JD Supra Morning Brief: Deleting Evidence, Taxing Derivatives, Gambling Online, Selling MPGs

Time to get serious. Or at least get a second cup of coffee (and a cherry Danish) to go with this JD Supra Morning Brief:

Is it ever NOT a good idea to delete a social media account? (JD Supra Law News) 

A tax of $0.0006 per derivatives transaction could raise $300 million a year for the CFTC… (Shipkevich) 

Workplace violence can have a devastating toll that continues long after the violence ends (Fisher & Phillips) 

Maybe if they’d spent a little less time at the hookah and more time reading their cable contract, they wouldn’t be in this situation… (Varnum) 

“Can we fire that guy in France?” “Hold on, lemme check…” (White & Case) 

Fire up the laptop – Daddy needs a new pair of shoes! (Jeff Ifrah) 

Former NFL players are finally getting their day in court to talk about football-related head injuries (The Rothenberg Law Firm) 

Think you want to invest in Bitcoins? Read this first… (Pepper Hamilton) 

Getting a credit card just got easier for stay-at-home spouses and partners (Ballard Spahr) 

Will it ever be legal to sell digital goods? (JD Supra Legal Perspective)  

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You know where to find us on Twitter: @JDSupraBuzz»

JD Supra Weekend Reader: SEO Expert Testimony, Google Street Smarts, Human Gene Patents, Immigration Reform Bill

That “weekend” thing everyone’s been talking about since Monday? It’s here. Make it a good one, with a dose of JD Supra Law News:

Is Big Law on the mend? Maybe… (Bloomberg Law) 

Relax, America – SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) has approved the new three-year contract for television commercials (Heenan Blaikie) 

SEO expert testimony in litigation? Yep - it’s coming… (Ronald Coleman) 

The struggle to make respect for human rights part of mainstream corporate practice in the United States has just begun… (Foley Hoag) 

“Street” smarts, brought to you by Google… (BakerHostetler) 

On the Internet in China, someone actually DOES know you’re a dog… (Sheppard Mullin) 

Will doing time become a requirement for those convicted of white collar crimes? (Saul Ewing) 

Can human genes be patented? (JD Supra Legal Perspective) 

“Neither admit nor deny” settlements of SEC charges may not be very satisfying, but without them the agency would lack an important enforcement tool… (Orrick) 

School officials have no unlimited right to search content on a student’s phone, says a federal appellate court (Franczek Radelet) 

The Marketplace Fairness Act would spell the end of tax-free purchases on the Internet (Dinsmore) 

The SEC’s social media guidance changes the way corporations communicate with investors. Here’s how… (JD Supra Legal Perspective) 

“Essential” job duties are still essential when an employee rarely performs them… (Ogletree Deakins) 

On second thought, maybe paying doctors for patient referrals wasn’t such a good idea after all… (King & Spalding) 

Your tax dollars at work: federal report finds that a lot of commercial real estate loans went bad when the market collapsed, often leaving small banks holding the bag (Dechert) 

Drafting a contract? It’ll be better if you think like a litigator… (Burns & Levinson) 

Space: the final frontier… For insurance companies? (Manatt, Phelps & Phillips) 

Be kind. Enough said. (McManis Faulkner) 

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act puts the burden on the copyright owner – not the website – to track infringement. Don’t believe us? Ask Viacom (or Google) (Looper Reed) 

Wonder what’s going on with the legalization of crowdfunding? Read this (Leonard, Street and Deinard) 

Last year the Supreme Court said law enforcement couldn’t attach GPS-tracking devices to a vehicle without a warrant. But there may be exceptions… (Jeff Ifrah) 

The new immigration reform bill is 844 pages long. Here’s a good summary (Morgan Lewis) 

More and more states have begun to consider laws that would require the disclosure of toxic chemicals in consumer products (Davis Wright Tremaine) 

True or False: telling an employer she needs to clean a construction site trailer in a French Maid’s Costume is not sexual harassment. No, it’s not a trick question. And yes, you might be surprised by the answer… (Fenwick & West) 

Will lawmakers succeed in imposing a financial transactions tax on Wall Street? (Duane Morris) 

Does your business comply with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act? (Foley & Lardner) 

Can you trademark a store design? Ask Apple (Winthrop & Weinstine) 

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JD Supra Morning Brief: SEC and Social Media, Fracking and Force Majeure, CFPB and Indirect Lenders, Employers and Essential Duties

Four out of five dentists recommend the JD Supra Morning Brief for their patients who read law news:

Chinese companies manufacture about 80% of all the Vitamin C sold in the US (Bloomberg Law) 

The SEC’s social media guidance changes the way corporations communicate with investors. Here’s how… (JD Supra Legal Perspective) 

That moratorium on fracking imposed by New York State? Not a “force majeure” that would extend oil and gas leases held by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC (Phillips Lytle) 

The CFPB plans to hold banks accountable for discrimination committed by indirect auto lenders (Foley & Lardner) 

“Essential” job duties are still essential when an employee rarely performs them… (Ogletree Deakins) 

Whoosh… The EPA plans to revise its effluent limitation guidelines for steam electric generation plants next year (Foley Hoag) 

The Supreme Court gave employers another tool to use in defending against wage & hour lawsuits last week (JD Supra Contributors) 

On second thought, maybe paying doctors for patient referrals wasn’t such a good idea after all… (King & Spalding) 

Your tax dollars at work: federal report finds that a lot of commercial real estate loans went bad when the market collapsed, often leaving small banks holding the bag (Dechert) 

Drafting a contract? It’ll be better if you think like a litigator… (Burns & Levinson) 

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JD Supra Morning Brief: Toxic Chemicals, Maid Costume, Cross Trademarks, Myriad Lessons

Sure it’s Monday. But doesn’t the JD Supra Morning Brief soften the blow? Especially sandwiched between a double espresso and a blueberry scone… 

Happy Earth Day!  

Do corporate in-house lawyers use social media to hire law firms? You bet (Bloomberg Law) 

More and more states have begun to consider laws that would require the disclosure of toxic chemicals in consumer products (Davis Wright Tremaine) 

True or False: telling an employer she needs to clean a construction site trailer in a French Maid’s Costume is not sexual harassment. No, it’s not a trick question. And yes, you might be surprised by the answer… (Fenwick & West) 

Apparently, the Red Cross and Blue Cross Blue Shield get very cross when health care companies try to trademark crosses (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings) 

Will lawmakers succeed in imposing a financial transactions tax on Wall Street? (Duane Morris) 

Does your business comply with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act? (Foley & Lardner) 

What to do to fight counterfeit products? Start by reading this update (Knobbe Martens) 

There are Myriad lessons in this update (and yes, we have been waiting for a long time to say that…) (McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff) 

What did the Bosley CEO say to the Hair Club CEO? Competitively sensitive, nonpublic information about their hair transplantation businesses, according to the FTC (BakerHostetler) 

Can you trademark at store design? Ask Apple (Winthrop & Weinstine) 

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@JDSupraBuzz

JD Supra Weekend Reader: Immigration Reform, Too Big To Fail, Trouble on the Vine, Abraham Lincoln

Be safe, Boston.

The ACLU thinks you shouldn’t be able to patent human genes. Here’s why (Bloomberg Law) 

At long last – the immigration reform bill has been introduced (Lane Powell) 

It’s the “look before you leap” of the 21st century (McAfee & Taft) 

[Food for thought] Is global warming as catastrophic as some reports may lead to believe? (Looper Reed) 

Today’s Top 10 list: 10 reasons why crowdfunding is not a feasible option for start-ups (Pepper Hamilton) 

In 2012, Chinese courts heard 19,815 trademark civil cases and 1,123 trademark administrative and unfair competition cases (K&L Gates) 

Want to hire current or former government employees? Tread carefully… (Morrison & Foerster) 

The rules for doing business in the United States just got easier to understand (Pillsbury) 

One reason the FDA cannot regulate the compounding of animal drugs from bulk ingredients? Because “Congress will not hide an elephant in a mouse-hole” (Duane Morris) 

Exactly which banks are too big to fail? Don’t ask the FDIC… (Leonard, Street and Deinard) 

When foreign companies commit human rights violations in foreign lands, can they be held accountable in U.S. courts? Not anymore… (Is That Legal?) 

Fruit of the Vine… can spell trouble for employers… (Pullman & Comley) 

Apparently, patent trolls were a problem when Abraham Lincoln was practicing law. And he gave one a good schooling, too [great read ] (Pepper Hamilton) 

Want to stop having to pay US taxes without giving up your US citizenship? Move to Puerto Rico. Really (Bilzin Sumberg) 

Should it be this hard to determine what is a natural food ingredient and what is not? (Morrison & Foerster) 

Corporate investor relations teams should expect that any negative news or disclosure will trigger a securities class action lawsuit (Levick) 

Don’t plan to pay your taxes? You could end up like these folks… (Greenberg Glusker) 

This 73-page analysis of President Obama’s 2014 budget proposal is an amazing resource (Patton Boggs) 

California’s new “Right to Know” law would give residents unprecedented access to information collected about them online (Orrick) 

Bitcoin? That’s so passé… (Ifrah Law) 

Maybe putting our name on the waitlist for a driverless car was a bit premature… (Foley & Lardner) 

According to the EPA, only 21% of the country’s rivers and streams are in “good” biological condition… (Burr & Forman) 

Your mother was right: some things ARE better left unsaid (or at a minimum, left unposted on Facebook…) (Lerners LLP) 

Even President Obama appears to growing weary of the ongoing NLRB nominations saga (Barger & Wolen) 

Looks like the 34 people who gambled online with Legendz Sports have hit a streak of bad luck… (Snell & Wilmer) 

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JD Supra Morning Brief: Immigration Reform Released, Crowdfunding Completely Unfeasible, Kentucky Wagering Questioned, Antitrust Perp Walk Ended

Ever feel like the week was one day longer than it should have been? ?No matter: a jumbo cup of coffee, a blueberry scone, and the JD Supra Morning Brief make it all better…

The first rule of thumb regarding bribery and corruption has got to be “don’t do it.” But if you do, take a lesson from the BizJet executives and cooperate, cooperate, cooperate (Thomas Fox) 

At long last – the immigration reform bill has been introduced (Lane Powell) 

It’s the “look before you leap” of the 21st century (McAfee & Taft) 

Patrons at two Kentucky horse racing tracks spent nearly $230 million dollars over 16 months wagering on historical horse races… (Dinsmore) 

[Food for thought] Is global warming as catastrophic as some reports may lead to believe? (Looper Reed) 

Today’s Top 10 list: 10 reasons why crowdfunding is not a feasible option for start-ups (Pepper Hamilton) 

Is mediation of business disputes for you? (Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley) 

The Antitrust Division of the DOJ will no longer be doing its version of the “perp walk” when announcing corporate antitrust plea arrangements (Wilson Sonsini) 

The latest point in the ongoing Chevron v. Ecuador battle goes to Chevron (King & Spalding) 

In 2012, Chinese courts heard 19,815 trademark civil cases and 1,123 trademark administrative and unfair competition cases (K&L Gates) 

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@JDSupraBuzz»

JD Supra Morning Brief: Vine Spells Trouble, Lincoln Schools Troll, Disclosures Trigger Lawsuits, gTLDs Threaten Internet

Email delivery of the JD Supra Morning Brief is the new black. Sign up here. 

Does the America Invents Act encourage or discourage startup capital? Watch and learn… (Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox) 

Fruit of the Vine… can spell trouble for employers… (Pullman & Comley) 

Apparently, patent trolls were a problem when Abraham Lincoln was practicing law. And he gave one a good schooling, too [great read ] (Pepper Hamilton) 

How to protect your company’s intellectual property? Go on the offensive. And the defensive… (Davis Brown) 

Want to stop having to pay US taxes without giving up your US citizenship? Move to Puerto Rico. Really (Bilzin Sumberg) 

The new generic top-level domains threaten the security of the Internet itself… (BakerHostetler) 

Should it be this hard to determine what is a natural food ingredient and what is not? (Morrison & Foerster) 

The European Commission approved oil giant Rosneft’s acquisition of TNK-BP, sidestepping the question of whether Roseneft operates independently of the Russian state (King & Spalding) 

Are your employees complaining to management about what goes on in the office? You might want to respond before the complaints escalate… (Proskauer) 

Corporate investor relations teams should expect that any negative news or disclosure will trigger a securities class action lawsuit (Levick) 

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