The Eleventh Circuit has issued its decision in LabMD v. FTC, a closely watched case in which LabMD challenged the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to regulate the data security practices of private companies. The Court of Appeals declined to decide that issue, instead finding that the FTC’s order requiring LabMD to implement certain data security … Continue Reading
On April 17, 2018, the European Commission published the e-Evidence Initiative, long-awaited legislation that would create a new framework for European Union (“EU”) Member States to access content data and metadata (collectively “e-evidence”) across national borders. The European Commission released the proposal less than one month after the United States created its own framework governing … Continue Reading
Today, 34 global technology and security companies announced that they have signed a Cybersecurity Tech Accord, which publicly commits them “to protect and empower civilians online and to improve the security, stability and resilience of cyberspace.” The signatories include Cisco, Dell, Facebook, HP, Intuit, and Microsoft.The text of the Accord references recent events that have … Continue Reading
Last week, South Dakota became the 49th U.S. state to enact a data breach notification law with the passage of S.B. 62, which sets forth requirements for notifying state residents, the state attorney general, and major consumer reporting agencies in the event of a breach. The law, which will take effect on July 1, 2018, … Continue Reading
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) approved a statement and interpretive guidance that provides the Commission’s views on a public company’s disclosure obligations concerning cybersecurity risks and incidents (the “2018 Commission Guidance”). This guidance reinforces and expands upon previous cybersecurity disclosure guidance issued by the Division of Corporation Finance … Continue Reading
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) released a revised Directive governing searches of electronic devices at the border. These are the first official revisions CBP has made to its guidelines and procedures for devices since its 2009 Directive. The new Directive is intended to reflect the evolution of technology over the intervening decade, … Continue Reading
Since August 2015, defense contractors have been on notice that they were required to implement the security controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) Special Publication (“SP”) 800-171 no later than December 31, 2017 on covered contractor information systems. Although the focus has been on meeting this deadline, contractors should add to their … Continue Reading
Privacy and data security issues were prominent in the campaign. Allegations were even made that Russia was behind the DNC hack. Despite it being front and center in the campaign, cyber security did not generate specific policies from the Trump campaign. One thing Donald Trump did promise was a top to bottom review of US … Continue Reading
When the dust settles on 2016, and Congress is receiving year-end grades from political pundits, voters and even self-evaluations from the Members themselves, there will no doubt be a common refrain that election year politics, gridlock and a short legislative calendar have yet again left too many important issues unresolved. But one important piece of … Continue Reading
In a major win for the American innovative economy, the U.S. Senate on Monday unanimously passed S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), 87-0. The bill stands a good chance of getting enacted into law, which would be a significant milestone for intellectual property protection particularly in this election year. Trade secrets are increasingly … Continue Reading
As Congress becomes further embroiled in election-year politics, especially a high-stakes standoff between the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee over the President’s nomination to the Supreme Court, it appears ever more likely that 114th Congress will end in December 2016 without passing comprehensive patent legislation. With the House and Senate patent bills on … Continue Reading
Note: This post is the third in a series of posts on the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by Covington’s International and Public Policy lawyers. The final TPP text, which was released on November 5, 2015, is available here. TPP is not expected to enter into force until at least 2016, with the … Continue Reading
According to the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, the EU and the US have finalized the EU-US Umbrella Agreement (for the press release, see here; a reportedly near-final draft of the agreement can be read here). This is a remarkable breakthrough after the first calls for such an agreement back in … Continue Reading
Close on the heels of a sweeping new National Security Law, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress released last month for public comment a very significant draft Network Security Law (“Draft Law”), also referred to as the draft Cybersecurity Law. Since it came into power in 2012, China’s current leadership has attached an … Continue Reading
We have already seen tremendous fallout from recent cyber attacks on Target, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Sony Pictures, and J.P. Morgan. Now imagine that, instead of an email server or a database of information, a hacker gained access to the controls of a nuclear reactor or a hospital. The potential consequences are devastating: … Continue Reading
It is a welcome development that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has moved closer to reauthorization. However, much more can and should be done through AGOA to strengthen intellectual property (IP) rights in Africa, particularly in the continent’s creative sectors. Africa’s creative sectors have the potential to be key economic drivers and IP … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission provided comments (“DOJ/FTC Comments”) last week that highlighted the role of the patent system in promoting “competition, innovation, and consumer welfare.” The DOJ/FTC Comments were submitted as part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) Enhanced Quality Initiative. The PTO’s Initiative, launched in February, demonstrates … Continue Reading
When John Oliver talks, the Internet starts buzzing. This week, on HBO’s show “Last Week Tonight,” Oliver highlighted patent litigation reform. Patent issues rarely hit the mainstream media, and even more rarely do they become fodder for pop culture. But Oliver’s satirical segment has broken that barrier. The segment contains lessons for both those who … Continue Reading
Any system of property rights functions best when all parties know the metes and bounds of the property. Our patent system is no different, and that is why the ongoing, two-day Patent Quality Summit at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO’s”) is so significant. The Summit is part of the PTO’s Enhanced Quality … Continue Reading
This summer, the International Standards Organization (ISO) adopted a new voluntary standard governing the processing of personal data in the cloud — ISO 27018. Although this recent development has gone mostly unnoticed by the technology and media press to date, the new cloud standard provides a useful privacy compliance framework for cloud services providers that … Continue Reading
In view of the importance of privacy issues to readers of GlobalPolicyWatch, we have reprinted below a blog post by Morgan Kennedy from Covington’s Washington office which appeared on the Covington InsidePrivacy blog on September 12. * * * Forever 21 Faces Point-of-Sale Data Collection Class Action Lawsuit Fast fashion retailer Forever 21 Retail Inc. … Continue Reading
On Sept. 11, 2014, the U.S. International Trade Commission released Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 2, a report that highlights the significant trade impact of digital and Internet-based industries. The 331-page report also identifies potential obstacles to cross-border digital trade, including inadequate intellectual property rights enforcement and privacy regulation. The ITC’s … Continue Reading
We have written recently about the ongoing effort in Congress to create a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation. Last week, James Nurton, the Managing Editor of Managing IP, wrote a story with the heading: “Trade Secrets Get Sexy.” Mr. Nurton discusses how efforts to harmonize, and elevate the importance of, trade secret laws … Continue Reading
On July 28, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives (“House”) passed three cybersecurity bills, the National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2014 (H.R. 3696) (“NCCIP Act”), the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act (H.R. 2952) (“CIRDA Act”), and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (H.R. 3107) (“Boots-on-the-Ground Act”) with broad bipartisan support. … Continue Reading
