By Porter Wright on On June 19, 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a decision in a trademark case where the applicant sought registration for IP TRANSLATOR, using a class heading of “educational services” to identify the services. Prior to this decision, an applicant for trademark protection in the European Union could use a class … Continue Reading
By Donna Ruscitti on U.S. and EU approaches to privacy regulation have been very different, but recent developments in the U.S. may be narrowing the gap. Recently, we hosted a seminar regarding current developments in information privacy regulation. The subjects covered and a link to the materials are provided below. Our panelists included: Dennis Hirsch, Esq., Professor at Capital University … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Women in Europe for a Common Future, (WECF) founded in the Netherlands in 1994, " is a network of 100 member organizations and individual members who share a common concern to promote a healthy environment for all, strengthen the role of women and promote a gender and rights based approach in environment and sustainable development … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The EU Conference on Privacy and the Protection of Personal Data held March 19 in Washington, D.C., was a great illustration of the importance of the topic within the European Union. The conference was extremely well attended by high-level EU regulators and provided valuable insights into the respective priorities. Tangible results, however, were scarce and … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on ObservatoryNANO recently published a "Guide to Responsible Nano-Business", a brief report written for an audience of "Medium sized companies involved in the development, processing, production, or trade of nanotechnology-enabled materials, components, or applications". ObservatoryNANO was created and funded by the then extant European Community (EC), the predecessor of today’sEuropean Union (EU), “to create a European Observatory on … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on We recently prepared a summary of the top developments and trends in electronic discovery that came out of 2011. Given the evolving nature of this area of the law, understanding the key events from last year can help with this year’s e-discovery challenges. To see what made our list, click here. Among the highlights: "Computer-assisted … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Sedona Conference® recently published the International Principles on Discovery, Disclosure & Data Protection (“International Principles”) through its Working Group 6 on International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure. The Sedona Conference® launched Working Group 6 in 2005 to bring the most experienced attorneys, judges, privacy and compliance officers, technology-thought leaders, and academics from around the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In a statement published on December 8, 2011, the Association of German Data Protection Agencies known as the “Duesseldorfer Kreis,” (“DK”) issued an opinion summarizing the minimum compliance criteria for operators of social networks in Germany: Transparent privacy policy and informed consent are essential for protecting the right to data privacy Opt-out solutions are insufficient, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on FTC Audit Agreement According to various news reports, Facebook and the FTC are about to enter into an agreement which will subject Facebook to privacy audits for the next 20 years. The agreement will apparently require Facebook to obtain prior express consent before making public any information to which the user had granted limited access … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Article 29 Working Party outlined its agenda for 2012 at a recent plenary meeting in Brussels. Not surprisingly, the top priority is a new legal framework for data protection. But other topics, some of interest for US data protection developments, were discussed as well. Revision of the EU data protection framework: To ensure that … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In my last entry I stressed the importance of complying with the various consent requirements hidden in European data protection laws. To prove my point and to illustrate further the high standards imposed by the German Data Protection Law, a regional German DPA (das “Unabhängige Landeszentrum für Datenschutz” in Schleswig Holstein or “ULD”) has taken … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In the Federal Register for February 15, 2011, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office announced it would hold a workshop on March 10 & 11 2011 to provide an open forum and engage in an active scientific discussion about environmental health and safety questions for nanomaterials and nanotechnology-enabled products, to encourage joint US-EU programs of work that … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Members of the European Union’s (“EU”) Environment Committee (“MEPs”) recently voted in favor of proposed amendments to the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, first passed in 2002, banning the use of nanosilver and long multi-walled carbon nanotubes in electrical and electronic products. The legislators also approved language requiring that any electrical or electronic … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Things have been mostly quiet in the United States on nanotechnology regulatory developments lately. There have been some items, but not much. So, we look across to Europe to see what they are up to. A new report adds more perspective to the nano-regulatory question. The Swiss based Innovation Society recently released its report: "FramingNano … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Last week we told you about the just-opened REACH pre-registrations here. Now, the news from across the pond tells us that carbon and graphite are to be specifically included in the REACH submissions.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Rumors from "across the pond" indicate that a forthcoming official recommendation to the European Union will be that nano-specific regulations are not needed in the EU.… Continue Reading
