General Archives

Jun 30, 2017

Senate Leader Needs to Bring the Republicans Together to Pass The Health Care Bill

As mentioned in prior blog posts, the Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate and need 50 out of 52 Republicans to vote for the health care bill. Both conservatives and centrists want different provisions in the bill, and Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-KY.) is struggling to bring the factions together in a way that will attract the votes of both of these groups. Once rewritten, he still needs to produce a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of the legislation’s impact on coverage levels and federal spending. Senate McConnell is planning on sending a revised version of… Read more

Jun 26, 2017

Health Care Bill-Opposition Continues While CBO to Weigh In On Cost

As previously discussed in this blog, a discussion draft of the Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) was introduced in the Senate last Thursday. Since that time, in addition to unanimous condemnation from the Democrats, including rallies by former Presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders (D., Vt.), several Republican Senators have also voiced their opposition to portions of the bill. In some cases, it is demand for including certain provisions, such as opioid treatment. But the key point of contention appears to be the bill’s treatment of Medicaid. As a reminder, Medicaid is a Federal/State collaboration, with… Read more

Jun 21, 2017

Coming Tomorrow-Draft of Senate Health Care Bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stated today that a discussion draft of the Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) will be presented tomorrow, with plans for a vote next week before the July 4th break. He also stated that, although the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) still has to determine the cost of the bill, he expected that process would be completed next week. Under the House version of the AHCA, an estimated 23 million people could lose their health care according to the CBO. Senator McConnell said on Tuesday that the Senate health-care bill would… Read more

Jun 20, 2017

A Primer on the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation

Overview Over four years in the making, the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) was approved by the European Council and Parliament on April 14, 2016, and will come into force beginning on May 25, 2018. In the wake of ever-increasing cyber security and data privacy threats across the globe, the GDPR is intended to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe and increase data privacy protections for all European Union citizens. The GDPR will replace the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (the “Directive”), which required each member state of the European Union to pass national legislation to implement the intended outcome… Read more

Jun 19, 2017

THE SLANTS Mark Registrable as Prohibition of “Derogatory” Marks Held Unconstitutional By the Supreme Court

By: Jim Bikoff, Darlene Tzou, and Holly Lance On June 19, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Matal v. Tam, 582 U.S. ____ (2017), unanimously holding the disparagement clause in the Lanham Act unconstitutional on the ground that it violates the First Amendment. This decision upends over 70 years of practice under Lanham Act § 2(a) (15 U.S.C. § 1052(a)). The case will likely have an immediate effect on other pending “derogatory” mark cases, including Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90091 (E.D. Va. July 8, 2015) (the “Redskins” case) and may signal… Read more

Mar 28, 2017

Misleading Advertising: The Truncated Graph

Graphs may seem like a safe, simple way to visually convey information to consumers, but they present a minefield of potential hazards for the unwary advertiser. In this post, we will explore one minor tweak that can transform a graph from accurate to misleading: the truncated graph. First, it is crucial to understand that advertisers are responsible for all reasonable interpretations of their ads. Obviously, this includes intentionally-conveyed messages. However, it also extends to those messages that were unintentionally conveyed. Advertisers must therefore be wary of making claims that can be reasonably interpreted in a variety of different ways, or… Read more

Mar 10, 2016

Supreme Court Calendar is IP-Heavy for 2016

By J. Gibson Lanier Maybe Chief Justice Roberts did not get the memo, but despite reports that he desires to limit access to the courts, this does not appear to be true with respect to matters relating to intellectual property. True, this may not be 2013 with significant rulings on 35 U.S.C. § 101, but to be sure the potential Supreme Court calendar for 2016 will have a significant impact on intellectual property. It will interesting to see how these cases will be handled, particularly with the present vacancy in the Court. Among the cases already accepted by the court… Read more

Oct 29, 2015

Environmental Groups and Local Entities File Comments on Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Including the Sabal Trail Pipeline

Kiokee‐Flint Group, Sierra Club, Flint Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Nonami Oglethorpe, LLC, Country, GA, LLC, and Graham Properties filed comments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline, as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis for Natural Gas Pipeline Act FERC authorization. To read the comments click HERE.

Apr 30, 2015

Are First Amendment rights violated by the PTO’s refusal to register a “disparaging” trademark?

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is wrestling with this question. On April 20th, a three-judge panel ruled that refusal to register a service mark on the grounds that it is disparaging does not affect the applicant’s right to use the mark and, therefore, the refusal to register does not violate the First Amendment. However, just one week after this decision, the Federal Circuit, on its own motion, decided to vacate the prior decision and reinstate the appeal for consideration by all the judges of the Court. As a bit of background, The Slants is a Portland,… Read more

Feb 17, 2014

Revised Schedule Issued for Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative and Advanced Solar Initiative Prime

Due to extensive comments on the proposed Request for Proposals (RFP) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Georgia Power’s proposed purchase of solar energy from 495 MW of new solar projects, a revised schedule was issued today. Bids are now due for projects under the Advanced Solar Initiative (ASI) and Advanced Solar Initiative Prime (ASI Prime) by 5:00 p.m. on April 7. The revised RFP and PPA will be available on Friday, February 21, 2014. For assistance, copies of documents, or other questions, contact Steve O’Day.