The PROTECT IP Act Blacklists IP Infringing Websites: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?
Insights July 15, 2011
On May 12, 2011, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP Act) to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is a revised version of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which was unsuccessful a year ago. The…
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 1
Insights Robin Powers · July 15, 2011
Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law (FIEL) Japan’s corollary to Title VII of Dodd-Frank is the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law (FIEL), which went into effect in 2008. While the laws are similar, they are by no means identical. The Japanese law remains silent on topics that Dodd-Frank addresses thoroughly. Most notable among these topics…
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 2
Insights Robin Powers · July 14, 2011
Swaps Experts Say Market Will Grow; Others Differ in Opinion As the swaps market braces for Dodd-Frank impact, firms and investors differ on the anticipated changes in the newly regulated market. Citigroup, Inc. recently released a white paper predicting that interest rate and credit default swaps will grow more than 10% by 2013 as trading…
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 3
Insights Robin Powers · July 13, 2011
ISDA Calls for Coordination Amongst Global Regulators The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) recently announced their position that Global regulators need to first coordinate new rules for trade repositories before drafting more complex derivatives rules. The ISDA feels that G20 agreed upon reforms must be enacted prior to other rules so that there is…
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 4
Insights Robin Powers · July 12, 2011
CFTC Increases Policing Power under Dodd-Frank The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has finalized a set of five “anti-manipulation” rules with respect to Title VII of Dodd-Frank requirements. The CFTC voted unanimously to expand the government’s ability to police potential fraud and insider trading with respect to derivatives. The CFTC established that a regulator need…
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 5
Insights Robin Powers · July 11, 2011
Banks Ask for Margin Relief The largest U.S. banks via a joint letter on June 29, 2011 asked the Commodities Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) to remove the requirement that overseas swap transactions be subject to margin requirements, regardless of whether the swap counterparty is an affiliate of a U.S. organization. This follows on the coattails…
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 6
Insights Robin Powers · July 10, 2011
NYSE sees Growth in Derivatives in June Uncertainty reigns in the derivatives market as regulators on either side of the Atlantic debate upcoming risk managements regulations, but this has hardly slowed the growth of the industry. http://derivative-news.fincad.com/derivatives-news/nyse-sees-growth-in-derivatives-in-june-1274/
Dodd-Frank 30 Day Countdown: Day 7
Insights Robin Powers · July 9, 2011
Britain and EU Differ over Derivatives Reform Rules Last Monday, July 4, the EU announced that it won’t be prepared to make any decisions regarding derivatives regulation before September. The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) has hit a road block as a result of the inability of the European states to reach compromise on which…
Apple’s Continued Attempts to Trademark “App Store” may Fall Short
Insights July 8, 2011
Earlier this year in March, Amazon launched the Amazon Appstore, which was then a new avenue for buying Android apps. Almost immediately after the launch, Apple proceeded to file a trademark infringement suit against Amazon over the usage of the “Appstore” phrase. The case is contingent upon whether “app store” can be deemed a generic…
LegalZoom Sued in Class Action Suit for Unauthorized Practice of Law
Insights July 8, 2011
LegalZoom, as referenced in http://www.rimonlaw.com/blog/2011/05/31/e-law-firms-versus-document-mills, is an online service that allows people to economically generate their own legal documents, which are customized by a series of questions – think TurboTax for law. Though customized, the product is still based on a limited set of templates. LegalZoom is based in California, and was founded by Robert Shapiro,…