By Porter Wright on Companies across industries – from tech to transportation – should be paying careful attention to Friday’s executive action signed by President Obama. Our colleagues at Antitrust Law Source, Jay Levine and Chris Yook, wrote an article discussing the order’s requirements and what we can expect as it is implemented. Check out the article: “Breaking: President Obama’s executive order … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The new 2011 edition of Nanotechnology Law published by West/Thomson/Reuters is now out. I update the book every year and the new edition has lots of new stuff. They make excellent Christmas and Birthday gifts, and are a general cure for insomnia. All proceeds go to my underprivileged daughters’ college fund. Everyone should have one … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Here is a bit of shameless self-promotion. The 2010 edition of my book — "Nanotechnology Law" — has just been published by West/Thomson/Reuters. You can find it here. Please pass the word. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Just a quick plug for our new NanoSafety Consortium for Carbon which was recently launched to address potential EHS issues concerning its members’ products. You can learn more about the consortium at: www.nanosafetyconsortium.com.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on To our knowledge, this press release announces the first nano-specific liability insurance coverage available in the United States. Many nano-related businesses have been waiting a long time for a product like this. It will be interesting to see industry reaction. Lexington Insurance Company Introduces LexNanoShieldSM March 30, 2010 10:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time NEW YORK–(EON: … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Our friends at Nanodialog.eu will now be publishing summaries of select nanolawreport blogs in Polish. Here’s an example: NOWOSCI The Nanotechnology Education Act Pełny artykuł zamieszczony 1 lutego, 2010, w Nanotechnology Law Report przez Robert Oszakiewski : http://www.nanolawreport.com/2010/02/articles/the-nanotechnology-education-act/ 06.03.2010. Streszczenie i tłumaczenie: Ewa Lockard Końcem stycznia 2010, dwóch kongresmanów amerykańskich: David Wu i Daniel … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Readers may be interested in learning that my 2009 book "Nanotechnology Law" is now online. You can find it on Westlaw as Nanotechnology Law (NANOTECH). The Westlaw version is very helpful because you can now electronically search for any nano-related legal topic and let your computer do all the work — it even provides links … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Here is the Summer 2009 edition of Nanotechnology Law Report. The newsletter contains the below-listed articles (and more): EPA Issues Significant New Use Rules for Carbon Nanotubes Are Nanoparticles Released by Cutting or Compounding Nano-Composites? Annual Nano TiO2 Production Estimated at 44,000 Metric Tons Are Nano Consumer Products Headed Underground? Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Chubb Insurance is hosting a one-day nanotechnology insurance conference on October 13, 2009 in North Branch, New Jersey: "Nanotechnology: What is the Best Safety and Risk Management Approach?" From the conference website: "This conference brings together prominent nanotechnology speakers who will review nanotechnology background, health and safety, and potential insurance and liability issues. Current risk … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Nanotechnology Law & Business just published its new edition. For those who might be interested, Volume 6.2 contains an article I co-authored with several nano-friends entitled: "Nano Risk Governance: Current Developments and Future Perspectives." You can find the article here. An abstract follows. As with many new technologies, developing a framework for making risk management … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on "Nanotechnology Law" by John Monica was just published this week by West/Thomson/Reuters, the world’s leading legal publisher. The book is the first comprehensive legal text on nanotechnology and weighs in at a healthy 900 pages. The table of contents is here. The book is divided into ten informative chapters: Nanotechnology Introduction National Nanotechnology Initiative and … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on "Nanotechnology: Considering the Complex Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues with the Parameters of Human Performance", by Linda MacDonald and Jeanann S. Boyce and published in Nanoethics 2: 265-275 (2008) (available at http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/2945) is one of the more thought provoking articles that look at the potential impacts of nanotechnology on law and society. It is certainly … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Steffen Foss Hansen is a Ph.D. candidate at the Technical University of Denmark’s Department of Environmental Engineering. Here is a link to his well-written Ph.D. thesis — "Regulation and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials — Too Little, Too Late?" Dr. Hansen’s thesis investigates whether existing environmental, health, and safety regulations and risk assessment techniques are adequate for nanotechnology … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Food & Drug Law Institute is holding its 2nd Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy on February 18-19, 2009 at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. Register here. Topics include: What progress is FDA making in implementing its Nanotechnology Task Force Report? What can FDA learn from EPA and other oversight … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Nanotechnology Law and Business was kind enough to let us post a PDF of "A Nano-Mesothelioma False Alarm" here after several readers requested a copy. Please be sure to visit the journal to see the rest of this issue’s articles: Grading of Fullerene Nanotubes for Composite Applications Next Generation Carbon Fiber Patenting Graphene: Opportunities and Challenges … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Nano Science and Technology Institute recently published an article, "Where Science and Law Meet," concerning the implications nanotechnology is having on intellectual property law. As one would expect, patents are being filed for nanotechnology products in increasing numbers. Given the complexities of both patent law and nanotechnology, there are unique implications when the two meet. The … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The December 4, 2006 on-line edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is set to publish findings from a recent in vivo animal study researching the possible health effects of SWCNTs deliberately injected into the bloodstream. Scientists at Rice University and the University of Texas are said to have found that carbon nanotubes are … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Ed. note: every Friday (more or less) Nanotechnology Law Report’s David Fischer will look back at the week’s news and analysis of nano related issues. If you have something you’d like to bring to our attention, email him. PhysOrg.com reports on a prototype nanoknife that could be used to cut and study cells more precisely. The National … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on JCM: My reading is EPA’s new position on Samsung’s washing machine has little to do with the alleged "nanoness" of the silver ion particles released by the machine. Rather, EPA is focused on the claimed antimicrobial properties of the material. Whether or not the silver ions are truly "nano" is not determinative. Under EPA’s current … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Rick Weiss reported in yesterday’s Washington Post that the EPA plans to regulate silver nanomaterials used in consumer products as "germ-killing" agents: The decision — which will affect the marketing of high-tech odor-destroying shoe liners, food-storage containers, air fresheners, washing machines and a wide range of other products that contain tiny bacteria-killing particles of silver … Continue Reading
