More Than Your Mark

OCTOBER 10, 2019

The first U.S. plant patent has been issued on a variety of hemp, which is by federal law a cannabis plant with less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol. See our post, “ The USPTO Issues First Hemp Plant Variety Patent; Expect More to Come ,” on our cannabis law blog, Legally Grown , to read more. If you have any questions about this post or any other related matters, please contact us at info@norris-law.com.

Patent 52

Patent Blogging Patent Law Law 52

GDB Firm Blog

OCTOBER 31, 2019

The knockout punch was in May when a federal judge decided that offering a national FinTech charter exceeded the OCC's authority. The referee's count reached 10 last week when judgment was entered against the OCC, paving the way for an appeal. A few years ago, the OCC announced that it would accept applications for "FinTech" charters under the National Bank Act.

Technology 40

Technology Art 40

GDB Firm Blog

OCTOBER 21, 2019

In the closing rush of the legislative session in July, New York adopted a statute that requires all businesses that keep sensitive personal information to maintain appropriate procedures to protect against security breaches. Banks and certain other regulated entities that comply with Gramm Leach Bliley, HIPPA or NY Department of Financial Services Part 500 requirements are exempt.

Business 40

Business Reporting Law 40

GDB Firm Blog

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Busy bodies, like whistleblowers, can sue to collect money fraudulently withheld from New York State, and share in the recovery if they win. In 2015, a data analytics company sued J.P. Morgan for allegedly fraudulently delaying the date when it was required to pay abandoned property to the Comptroller, and not paying interest during the delay. In August 2019, the court held that interest was required to be paid.

Law 40

Law Reporting Business 40

Speaker: Blackberry, OSS Consultants, & Revenera

Software is complex, which makes threats to the software supply chain more real every day. 64% of organizations have been impacted by a software supply chain attack and 60% of data breaches are due to unpatched software vulnerabilities. In the U.S. alone, cyber losses totaled $10.3 billion in 2022. All of these stats beg the question, “Do you know what’s in your software?

Technology

GDB Firm Blog

OCTOBER 7, 2019

In August, the GAO issued a report titled, "Agencies and Financial Institutions Share Information but Metrics and Feedback Not Regularly Provided." The GAO criticized FinCEN and recommended more feedback from FinCEN about reports that had been filed. Unfortunately, the report ignores the cost/benefit analysis of filings in the first place. FinCEN's website reports than depository institutions filed over 16,000,000 SARS since 2012.

Reporting 40

Reporting 40

GDB Firm Blog

OCTOBER 2, 2019

First, let's get the clutter out of the way. I think cryptocurrencies are useless and have no social utility other than to allow people to gamble without going to a casino, if you call that social utility. For over 5 years, I have been challenging Bitcoin proponents at public forums to give me one useful case, and other than protecting against Venezuelan hyperinflation by parking local currency in a Bitcoin wallet, no one has met my challenge by providing a justification for its existence.

Litigation 40

Litigation Business 40