Month: July 2019

Intellectual Property

Foreign Trademark Applicants and Registrants Are Now Required to be Represented by U.S. Attorneys

Photo credit: istock.com/Man at Work

By Alesha M. Dominique and Dima S. Budron

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a new rule on July 2, 2019, requiring trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings whose domicile is not located within the United States or its territories to be represented before the USPTO by a U.S.-licensed attorney as of August 3, 2019. Domicile is typically defined as the permanent legal place of residence of an individual or the headquarters of an entity. The rule does not retroactively apply to applications filed before August 3, 2019, but impacts such applications if an office action is issued on or after August 3, 2019, requiring the applicant to designate a U.S.-licensed attorney to respond. This rule is intended to streamline trademark registrations and reduce the potential of invalidations by providing the USPTO a more efficient way to enforce statutory and regulatory requirements.

Continue reading “Foreign Trademark Applicants and Registrants Are Now Required to be Represented by U.S. Attorneys”

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Labor & Employment

Let the Sunshine In: California and New York Prohibit Discrimination Based on Hairstyle

Three multi-racial office workers talking and laughing
Photo Credit: istock.com/kali9

By Jeremy Mittman

Within the past two weeks, both California and New York have passed laws prohibiting employers from discriminating based upon hairstyle.  Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s “CROWN Act” (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) on July 3, 2019.  The law amends the state’s Education and Government Codes to define “race or ethnicity” as “inclusive of traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.” It takes effect on January 1, 2020. Continue reading “Let the Sunshine In: California and New York Prohibit Discrimination Based on Hairstyle”

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Labor & Employment

Get Back: NLRB Overturns Long-Standing “Public Space” Exception

By Jonathan Turner

Canteen, cafeteria, hotel restaurant blur background with blurry dining table and chair in school or university food facility interior empty hall
Photo Credit: istock.com/noipornpan 

Why This Matters

In June, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) overturned a nearly 38-year old precedent when it ruled that employers may deny nonemployee union representatives access to areas of their property open to the public, like cafeterias or restaurants, when the union representatives are there to solicit for or promote union membership.  In this ruling, the NLRB overruled its previous decisions that had recognized a “public space” exception under which employers were required to permit non-employee union organizers to engage in union activity in public cafeterias or restaurants if the organizers used the facility in a manner consistent with its intended use and were not disruptive. Continue reading “Get Back: NLRB Overturns Long-Standing “Public Space” Exception”

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