1. JD Supra Morning Brief: Political Intelligence, Gender Stereotyping, Worker Misclassification, Washington Redskins

    It’s Monday morning. Do you know where your law news is? 

    Political intelligence appears to be a growing business in big law firms. But is it legal? (Bloomberg Law) 

    Have you registered your brands with the ICANN Trademark Clearinghouse? (Mintz Levin) 

    Title VII anti-discrimination laws now prohibit workplace discrimination stemming from gender stereotyping, says the Fifth Circuit (Ogletree Deakins)  

    Think twice before using your 401(k) assets to get your new business off the ground… (Leonard, Street and Deinard) 

    The stakes of worker misclassification are going up (and up and up…) (Morgan Lewis) 

    The new California law requiring certain businesses to post public notices regarding slavery and human trafficking is now in effect (Nossaman) 

    US trademark law prohibits marks that “may disparage… persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols.” But is that enough to revoke the name of the Washington Redskins? (Loeb & Loeb) 

    First thing to do before suing a foreign defendant: convince them to open a Facebook account… (Cozen O’Connor) 

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    Find more like these on Twitter: @JDSupraBuzz»

  2. JD Supra Morning Brief: BRAIN Initiative, Cyprus Bail-In, HIPAA Time Bomb, Cruel & Unusual Punishment

    Can you believe there’s only five more days to do your taxes? Might as well get started… right after you read the JD Supra Morning Brief:

    Universities need a top-to-bottom review of the America Invents Act to see how it impacts monetization of their R&D (Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox) 

    About 70 percent of security breaches are committed by employees (both willing and unwilling) (Sheppard Mullin) 

    President Obama unveiled his new BRAIN Initiative last week. Our question – how much did US taxpayers pay to come up with that name? (McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff) 

    Banks in Cyprus were saved not by a bail-out, but by a bail-in (Harney Westwood & Riegels) 

    Tick tock, tick tock – 89% of healthcare workers use their personal smartphones for work purposes, and that’s a HIPAA / HITECH time bomb waiting to explode… (BakerHostetler) 

    “Well, your Honor, we’ve tried to serve process on these defendants in India via Federal Express and local courier with no luck.” “Did you try Facebook?” (Morrison & Foerster) 

    Same-sex married couples must act now to protect their right to file an amended 2009 tax return should DOMA be overturned (Carlton Fields) 

    A growing number of inmates are suing California counties for cruel and unusual punishment because they claim to have been deprived of basic medical and mental health care (Best Best & Krieger) 

    Trying to keep your employees healthy with a wellness program? Be careful – the “tax liability” flu might be going around… (Ogletree Deakins) 

    Good to know: merely using the US postal service when committing fraud may not automatically mean “mail fraud” has occurred (Morvillo Abramowitz) 

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  3. JD Supra Morning Brief: Godzilla, Google, Shark Wrestling, Fresh Starts

    Trudging out to the curb every morning to pick up your JD Supra Morning Brief is so 2012… Sign up here to get it delivered right to your inbox: 

    Waiting for Godzilla, Diamonds are Forever, and Long Tall Sally to enter the public domain? Have a seat – it’ll be a while… (Bloomberg Law) 

    Collecting info from unsecured wireless networks across the country while taking pictures for Street View costs Google $7 million (Ifrah Law) 

    This is either the title of a new children’s book or valuable advice on keeping your job: “Don’t Wrestle a Shark While on Holiday in Australia” (Orrick) 

    Filing personal bankruptcy? You’ll want to know the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 (John Skiba) 

    Need a Fresh Start? The Internal Revenue Service might be the place to look (Duane Morris) 

    Wait – Facebook is fighting to keep user data private? Yep, but not for the reasons you might think… (Morrison Foerster) 

    Kivalina, the Alaska village that has spent five years suing energy companies for their role in the global warming that is inundating the town, has appealed its case to the Supreme Court (McCarter & English) 

    Got questions about Brazilian labor and employment law? We’ve got answers (Proskauer) 

    Anonymous whistleblowers who report corporate misconduct to the SEC create special challenges for the companies accused of wrongdoing (Morvillo Abramowitz) 

    Worried about food safety? You’re not alone (Is That Legal?) 

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    See trending law news and updates throughout the day: @JDSupraBuzz on Twitter»

  4. JD Supra Weekend Reader: Political Contributions and Corporate Disclosure, Foreclosure and Debt Collection, CEOs and Environmental Crimes, Gun Control and School Safety

    What a crazy week - for President Obama. Monday, he’s on top of the world as he starts his second term. Friday? Well, let’s just say it was a different story… 

    It’s what first-to-file patents, hiring for cultural fit, and Roth conversions post-fiscal cliff have in common… (Corporate Law Report) 

    Do your investments align with your political views? The SEC wants to make it easier for you to find out (Skadden) 

    President Obama comes out swinging in his second-term inauguration speech (Is That Legal?) 

    Mortgage foreclosure is just another form of debt collection according to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (Ballard Spahr) 

    Will judges really put CEOs in jail for the environmental crimes of their companies? Yep (Saul Ewing) 

    Everybody wins when the TARP bailout generates tens of billions in profit for taxpayers… (Orrick) 

    Hi Dee Ho: Cab Calloway trademark goes to grandson who uses it, not other family members who don’t (Foley Hoag) 

    New Jersey teacher learns a valuable (and costly!) lesson about Facebook posts (Franczek Radelet) 

    Worried about cyber risk? Here are ten ways to manage it… (Sherman & Howard) 

    What do President Obama’s proposed gun control measures mean for school safety? (Franczek Radelet) 

    Feeling better? Or worse: approximately 81 pharmaceutical chemicals have been found in drinking water at miniscule concentrations (Pepper Hamilton) 

    One benefit of Lance Armstrong’s confession: compliance officers can learn a lot from this “true sociopath” (Michael Volkov) 

    The new USCIS “unlawful presence waiver” provides immediate relatives of US citizens an opportunity to remain in the country while their own immigrant visa applications are processed (Ogletree Deakins) 

    Is anonymity in the New York art-auction world a thing of the past? (Sheppard Mullin) 

    Victoria’s Secret learned the hard way that the only real way to protect a trademark is to go after infringers (Ifrah Law) 

    Insider trading in 2012: what a year it was… (Morrison & Foerster) 

    “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “The Feds, but it’s no joke” (Akerman) 

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    @lancegodard

  5. JD Supra Morning Brief: TARP Bailout in the Black, Online Privacy in China, Antitrust Investigations in Oil and Pharma, Disability Discrimination in California

    Gearing up for a long commute? Let the JD Supra Morning Brief shorten the ride:

    The 800-page “Ability to Repay” rule? New mortgage servicing standards? Final high-cost loan regulations? Yep. And the CFPB is just getting started… (Levick) 

    Everybody wins when the TARP bailout generates tens of billions in profit for taxpayers… (Orrick) 

    Any port in a storm? Public-private partnerships produce win-win-win results across the country (Bilzin Sumberg) 

    China’s online data privacy law begins to take shape (Morrison & Foerster) 

    Hi Dee Ho: Cab Calloway trademark goes to grandson who uses it, not other family members who don’t (Foley Hoag) 

    New Jersey teacher learns a valuable (and costly!) lesson about Facebook posts (Franczek Radelet) 

    At the top of the FTC’s antitrust investigation list: mergers in the oil and pharmaceutical sectors (Dechert) 

    California’s disability discrimination regulations have been completely overhauled (Wilson Sonsini) 

    The SEC’s not going to let a minor inconvenience like the departure of five top officials slow it down… (Skadden) 

    The U.S. National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee wants you … to comment on its draft climate change report (Osler) 

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  6. JD Supra Morning Brief: Debt Ceiling, Immigration Reform, Insider Trading, Alaskan Pipeline

    Keep the dream alive:

    “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…’ 

    I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…

    With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

    - The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Time will tell how the debt ceiling crisis will be resolved. In the meantime, here’s a good overview of the legal, market, and political issues involved (Bloomberg Law) 

    Victoria’s Secret learned the hard way that the only real way to protect a trademark is to go after infringers (Ifrah Law) 

    Will immigration reform ever get off the ground? (Ogletree Deakins) 

    Insider trading in 2012: what a year it was… (Morrison & Foerster) 

    The Department of Health and Human Services kicks patient privacy protection up a notch with 563 pages of omnibus HITECH rules (JD Supra Contributors) 

    Wondering if those Facebook comments are defamatory? Read this (Tacopina Seigel & Turano) 

    Alaska is moving ahead with plans to build a 730-mile small-diameter gas pipeline across the Arctic wilderness (Davis Wright Tremaine) 

    “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “The Feds, but it’s no joke” (Akerman) 

    How to determine if the elements of news photographs can be copyrighted? Dissection (Foley Hoag) 

    Think you don’t need an employee handbook? Think again (Hopkins & Carley) 

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    @JDSupraBuzz

  7. JD Supra Morning Brief: New Year’s Eve Weddings, Discrimination at Dillard’s, Compounding Pharmacies, Protected Facebook Posts

    Have you made your 2013 resolutions? Ours at JD Supra: keep producing the Morning Brief. Enjoy:

    Regulators are using the FCPA to enforce laws that haven’t been passed by Congress, says the FCPA Profession (Levick) 

    New year, new state labor laws. Yes, it’s the full list (Littler) 

    What’s the future of class arbitration? Rocky, if it will be anything like its past (Leonard, Street and Deinard) 

    Will Dillard’s wind up the holiday shopping season in the red after a $2 million discrimination settlement? (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) (Bernstein Shur) (Miller & Martin) (XpertHR)

    The FDA recently met with state boards of pharmacy to discuss the regulation of compounding pharmacies (Duane Morris) 

    Our next stop on the New York City tour – the state Attorney General’s office… (BakerHostetler) 

    Planning a New Year’s Eve wedding? To save on taxes, right? (Davis Brown) 

    Federal contractors that violate wage-hour laws could get burned by the Davis-Bacon act (Foley & Lardner) 

    Health and Human Services recently introduced a website to help promote mobile security in the healthcare industry (Davis Wright Tremaine) 

    Same story, different face(book): NLRB rules that employees’ Facebook posts are protected concerted activity (Mintz Levin) 

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  8. JD Supra Weekend Reader: Regulating Telemedicine, Patenting Cats, Blowing the Whistle, Suing Mobile Apps

    It’s that time of the week again, when we take a look back at some of the top stories of the week on JD Supra. Our Weekend Reader, delivered to your digital doorstep, fresh out of the virtual oven… Enjoy:

    A lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court could block the sale of copyrighted products purchased outside the country. Who does it concern? More than you think… (Farella Braun + Martel) 

    Telemedicine uses multimedia technology to deliver clinical and non-clinical healthcare services to patients in remote locations. If doctors can meet state licensing requirements… (Dinsmore & Shohl) (Pullman & Comley)

    Michigan governor Rick Snyder just signed two right-to-work bills into law, making The Wolverine State the 24th right-to-work state in the country (JD Supra Contributors) 

    Don’t laugh: patenting cats is serious business (even when done by Mr. Ditto) (McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff) 

    True or False: the Chief of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program thinks corporate lawyers too often try to find ways to prohibit employees from blowing the whistle. Bonus question: Is it legal if they do? (Proskauer) 

    UK employee unfairly demoted over Facebook posts, English High Court rules (Orrick) 

    CEOs: mind your tweets (Looper Reed) 

    Is attorney-client privilege at risk? (Duane Morris) 

    94% of healthcare organizations surveyed have had at least one data breach in the last two years (BakerHostetler) 

    The rules of the game have changed for foreign state-owned-enterprises investing in Canada (Bennett Jones) (Osler) (Heenan Blaikie) 

    Your art will outlive you. Here’s what to do about that (Venable) 

    The head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission thinks Goldman Sachs got off easy when one of their traders broke the rules in 2007 (Shipkevich PLLC) 

    She warned them. She gave them time to act. And now, California Attorney General Kamala Harris is suing Delta Airlines for not including a privacy policy with its mobile app (Corporate Law Report) 

    Q: What’s the common (and essential) element to all Ponzi schemes? A: Greed (Diaz Reus) 

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    @JDSupraBuzz

  9. JD Supra Morning Brief: Protecting Whistleblowers, Patenting Cats, Reforming Taxes, the End of the World

    Wake up to home delivery of the JD Supra Morning Brief – sign up for email access here: 

    Tax reform has become a revenue-raising exercise, and that is hurting the country’s credibility (Levick) 

    Don’t laugh: patenting cats is serious business (even when done by Mr. Ditto) (McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff) 

    True or False: the Chief of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program thinks corporate lawyers too often try to find ways to prohibit employees from blowing the whistle. Bonus question: Is it legal if they do? (Proskauer) 

    The end of the world isn’t coming, so you’ll have to go to work on December 22. Your consolation prize? The best damn update on labor and employment law we’ve read all year (Fisher & Phillips)  

    Eat your heart out, BCS: the latest battle between the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Iowa takes place in the courtroom, not on the gridiron (Lewis and Roca) 

    Big Data could save the healthcare industry $300 billion a year. That buys a lot of tongue depressors (Fenwick & West) 

    Wondering what the Feds’ record False Claims Act settlements mean for nonprofits? Read this update (Venable) 

    High school basketball in Indiana is more cutthroat than you might think (Franczek Radelet) 

    What’s a bigger deterrent to insider trading: longer sentences or more convictions? The answer might surprise you (Morvillo Abramowitz) 

    UK employee unfairly demoted over Facebook posts, English High Court rules (Orrick) 

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    @jdsuprabuzz

  10. JD Supra Weekend Reader: Sexual Harassment & the Holiday Party, Facebook & the First Amendment, Food Safety & Peanut Butter, More

    What does a week’s worth of key legal news and analysis look like? The JD Supra Weekend Reader:

    Obamacare Deadlines, $13M for Exotic Dancer Misclassification, 2013 Medicare Taxes, and More – what you need to know, in the new JD Supra Corporate Law Report (Corporate Law Report) 

    Building a better airline, not just a bigger one? Make sure you include an online privacy policy (yes, Delta, the California Attorney General is talking about you) (Ifrah Law) (Sheppard Mullin)

    Throwing a holiday party for the office? Better make nobody adds sexual harassment to the invitation list (Armstrong Teasdale) (See also: 3 Cheers for Holiday Parties! 5 Rules for Limiting Employer Liability!)

    “Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.” What does that have to do with shrimp peelers, intellectual property rights, and antitrust law? Everything (Lane Powell) 

    Social media at the cutting edge of law: can a public entity delete comments on its FB page without violating the constitutional right to free speech? (Franczek Radelet) 

    On time: the EEOC delivered a religious discrimination lawsuit to UPS. (EEOC) 

    The cost of recycling electronics continues to climb (Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis) 

    The FDA has suspended its first food facility under the Food Safety Modernization Act (don’t read this if you had peanut butter for breakfast) (Duane Morris) 

    Facebook has been accused of monopolizing the virtual currency market for online games (Pillsbury) 

    Think you know labor and employment law? Okay, then, test yourself. You may win a prize… (Nexsen Pruet) 

    Cleaning HIPAA-protected health data can give it a new life (Corporate Law Report) 

    Federal regulators are cleaning up with the False Claims Act (in more ways than one) (Corporate Compliance Report) 

    BP hit hard with fines and sanctions over Deepwater Horizon disaster (Warner Norcross & Judd) 

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    @lancegodard