Over 30 Years Of Representing Businesses And Their Owners
Download the PDF here This morning, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group. The question presented* by that case is: 1. Whether inter partes review—an adversarial process used by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to analyze the validity of existing patents— violates the Constitution by extinguishing private property rights through a non-Article…
Click here to download the PDF In an opinion handed down on May 30, 2017 in a case titled Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., the Supreme Court overruled previous lower court decisions relating to “exhaustion” of patent rights. The impact of this ruling on big companies will be minimal over the long term; the impact on small companies…
Two nonprofit groups in April, 2017 alleged that Monsanto intentionally mislabeled its weed killer Round Up as “target[ing] an enzyme found in plants but not in people or pets.” The lawsuit charges that Monsanto’s statement is “false, deceptive and misleading” because the enzyme targeted by glyphosate “in fact, is found in people and pets.” Beyond Pesticides and the Organic Consumers…
By: Jennifer T. Poochigian In an 8-0 decision, SCOTUS ruled that the term “resides” in the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400 subd. (b), shall refer only to the State of incorporation (as applied to domestic corporations). In TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, LLC, the respondent filed a patent infringement suit in the District Court for…
To download the PDF Click here Under the Waterkeeper case the D.C. Circuit held that a 2008 rulemaking that exempted certain CAFO’s and farms from emission reporting requirements under certain statutes was improper. Large animal farms and dairies will now be required to report more air pollution from animal waste after the D.C. Circuit April 11 vacated the Environmental Protection…
By Lee N. Smith Click here to download the PDF These are the Top Ten Food Safety Concerns for 2017 that were identified by the Acheson Group: Trump’s New Administration:What changes will occur What will the new administration do with the FDA budget and how will that impact its FSMA enforcement resources? It will also be interesting to see…
By Lee N. Smith Download the PDF here OEHHA has proposed thatglyphosate be listed with a No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) of 1100 microgramsper day. For chemicals assessed under Prop 65 for cancer sets a threshold risk level which represents no significant risk shall be one which is calculated to result in one excess case of cancer in an…
By: Lee N.Smith Attorneys representing a Ventura County farmworker and environmental justice groups filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) in January 2017 alleging that the California state agency did not do enough to protect the public from the fumigant pesticide Telone (1,3-dichloropropene). The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, alleges that DPR failed to follow…
By: Lee Smith The recent revisions of the Prop 65 regulation have been revised, again. Proposed Section 25205 concerns the content of the Lead Agency Website. Under this section the agency is to maintain a web-based portal to collect and display information provided to the agency by manufacturers related to exposures. These regulations require a manufacturer, producer, distributor or importer…
Download the PDF here. Oeeha has revised the new notice regulations requesting comments by June 6, 2016. following is quoted from the Oehha site. The The most significant changes are summarized below: In Section 25600(e) the term “fully” was removed. This provision is intended to be a statement of current law. Specifically, if a party to a court-ordered settlement or…