By J. Wylie Donald A coded gaze is a coded gaze is a coded gaze. With apologies to Gertrude Stein—see, e.g., rose is a rose, etc.—she never bought insurance for artificial intelligence applications. Specifically, she never had to concern herself with claims of racial discrimination arising Continue Reading
Ignoring Corporate Formalities Could Expose Board of Directors’ Emails to Stockholders
Companies that do not follow corporate formalities and accepted bookkeeping practices may be more susceptible to an expansion of the types or forms of records they have to make available—namely email communications—to inquiring stockholders. In KT4 Partners LLC v. Palantir Tech., Inc., Continue Reading
Hit Pause on Auto-Renewals: Changes Needed by April 2019 to Subscription Plan Operations
Remember Columbia House Records? You signed up, got a dozen albums for a penny, and then maybe tried to cancel your subscription before paying the higher monthly price. This was a very successful business model for attracting new customers and by now has expanded to all manner of products and Continue Reading
New Year, New Rules—Changes Are Coming to the FAR’s Small Business Subcontracting Limits and Nonmanufacturer Rule
On Dec. 4, 2018, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council finally released a proposed rule to implement changes to certain small business subcontracting regulations required by the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 83 Fed. Reg. 62540 (Dec. 4, 2018). This is a welcome, if not Continue Reading
Drafters, Nota Bene: A Review of Recent Changes in New Jersey Corporate Law with Drafting Implications
In 2018, the New Jersey State Legislature enacted significant changes to corporate law that, in the aggregate, mirror Delaware corporate law in relevant areas and were intended to make New Jersey a more competitive, business-friendly landscape. In 2019, we can expect to see the effects of those Continue Reading
Government Shutdown Irony: Battle Over Immigration Impacts E-Verify Employment Eligibility Checks
E-Verify, the online system used by enrolled employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees against records available to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is temporarily suspended. It’s a barely noticed Continue Reading
License to Sell Kills Patent: Supreme Court Holds Confidential Sales May Invalidate Patents in Helsinn Healthcare SA v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
Can a confidential agreement between a pharmaceutical company and a distributor constitute a patent-invalidating offer for sale of a pharmaceutical product, even if information about the product is never revealed to the public? Yes, it can, according to the Supreme Court’s January 22, 2019 decision Continue Reading
Delaware Court of Chancery Exercises Jurisdiction Over German Company Based on Rare Conspiracy Theory of Jurisdiction
iBio, Inc. v. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V., C.A. No. 2017-0790-TMR (Del. Ch. Dec. 10, 2018), Montgomery-Reeves, V.C. This action arises from the alleged breach of a technology agreement between Fraunhofer USA Inc. and Plaintiff iBio, Inc., in which the Continue Reading
Data Privacy Gets Pricey: First Enforcement Outside the European Union
The other GDPR shoe has dropped… with the European data protection law being enforced against a Canadian company. Since the sweeping law went into effect on May 25, 2018, the digital world has been waiting for enforcement actions to help bring the law into focus. Recently, one case arose in the Continue Reading
NLRB Retreats From Expansive Definition of “Concerted Activities,” Gives Employers More Leeway
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act) gives employees in the private sector the right to form and join unions and to collectively bargain with employers. It also gives employees the right “to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual Continue Reading