News

Additional Medicare Tax Regulations Finalized By IRS

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued final regulations governing implementation of the 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax (AMT) on high income earners that took effect January 1, 2013 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...

SDNY Holds No Attorney-Client Privilege Applies to Communications With In-House Legal Department in China

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

A US District Court in the Southern District of New York recently ordered Bank of China Limited (BOC) to produce thousands of documents that the court found not to be protected by the attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine. The court...

Mexico’s Energy Reform Amendments

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

Background - On December 12, 2013, Mexico’s lower chamber of Congress approved the country’s largest energy reform legislation in more than 75 years. The proposal ends Mexico’s state-owned monopoly of the oil and gas industry. Beginning in...

Did The SEC Make A Mistake? I Think Not.

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

Harvard Law School Professor John C. Coates recently published this post accusing the Securities and Exchange Commission of making policy and political mistakes in taking disclosure off of the “SEC’s agenda”. I beg to differ....

Feds Win Crucial Motions in Two High-Stakes Stark Cases

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

On the heels of the landmark Tuomey case (see the October 3, 2013 issue of the Health Law Update), the federal government recently has seen success in two more False Claims Act cases predicated on alleged Stark Law violations....

E-Verify to Lock Theft-ridden SSNs: We Should All Worry

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

E-Verify, a semi-voluntary online program by which employers can confirm the identity and work authorization of workers as they are hired, is being programmed to "lock out" social security numbers (SSNs) that have been repeatedly used by imposters,...

Preliminary arbitration study results: is the Bureau keeping an open mind?

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

Following up on our earlier post, we have now had a chance to review the CFPB’s 168-page report containing some preliminary results of its consumer arbitration study. While we are encouraged that the Bureau recognizes the importance of studying the...

Patent Trolls, Anti-Trolls, and Antitrust Law Collide in Patent Licensing Dispute

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

We previously wrote that regulators are considering using antitrust laws to reign in perceived abuses by non-practicing entities or, more familiarly, “patent trolls” – entities that purchase the rights to patents not to practice the patents but to...

Former Colorado regulator and consumer advocate Laura Udis to join CFPB as manager for payday lending program

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

We have learned that, starting Monday, Laura Udis will join the CFPB as the Payday and Small Dollar Lending Program Manager in Research, Markets and Regulations. Ms. Udis comes to the CFPB from the Consumer Federation of America, where she served as...

New Proposed USPTO Rules for International Design Protection

By EsqSocial Corporation 16/12/13

U.S. design patents and their international counterparts (generally termed “industrial designs”) protect the ornamental appearance of an article of manufacture. Design protection has been the subject of increased attention and activity for many...

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