The Federal Trade Commission recently asserted its data security authority in two recent back-to-back enforcement actions, only a day apart from each other.

The summer heat has not been confined to the weather. US Customs and Border Protection is warming up the import world with more audits and enforcement actions.

Today, the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Advocate Health Care Network (Illinois’ largest healthcare system) will pay a record $5.5 million settlement for violating HIPAA.

On June 24, 2016, the non-profit Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CHCS) agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Ransomware is old news – it has been around at least since 1989 – but it has only now started to attract widespread attention.

Last month, the US International Trade Commission issued a decision invalidating a trademark for Converse’s iconic Chuck Taylor sneaker.

The GDPR lays out requirements for organizations that process EU residents’ data and generally provides people increased control over their personal data.

After months of negotiations, it’s official: the EU-US Privacy Shield has been formally approved on both sides of the Atlantic, by the EU Commission and the US Commerce Department, despite concerns surrounding the adequacy of its earlier version.

Two China-based clothing manufacturers, Motives Far East and Motives China Limited, and their affiliated US importer, Motives, Incorporated, agreed to pay nearly $13.4 million for engaging in a double invoicing scheme designed to defraud the US out of millions of dollars in customs duties.

In the recent case of International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium v. Security University, LLC, the Second Circuit articulated its test for analyzing nominative fair use claims in trademark infringement cases.

Recent reports indicate that advertising fraud is not only increasing but is now being run by groups alongside otherwise legitimate advertising businesses. 

On Monday, July 11, 2016, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a fact sheet with guidance for covered entities and business associates on HIPAA and ransomware.

The House of Representatives has voted 306-117 to approve the bipartisan GMO disclosure bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 and to establish a mandatory National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.

Although the United States has had effective economic sanctions on North Korea for many years, the temporary softening of US sanctions in 2000 has given way to ever-increasing sanctions since 2008.

On July 6th, CMS released a proposed rule (expected to appear in the Federal Register on July 15th) that, if it takes effect, could be devastating to hospital off-campus outpatient department reimbursement – an effect not intended by Congress, and certainly unwelcome to the healthcare industry.

Late Thursday night, the Senate voted 63-30 to approve a bipartisan GMO disclosure bill hammered out earlier by Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). 

In a good outcome for employers, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a standalone non-compete agreement can be assigned to an asset purchaser without the employee’s consent.

In a surprising and promising development, the Senate Finance Committee released a Majority Staff Report on June 30, 2016 that gives the health care industry some hope that Congress may finally address some of the serious concerns with the implementation and enforcement of the Stark law.

Mobile advertising company InMobi, whose advertising network reaches more than one billion devices worldwide through thousands of apps, has settled with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it “deceptively tracked” the locations of hundreds of millions of consumers without their knowledge

In St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company v. Tessera, Inc., the federal court held that a lawsuit against an insured alleging a breach of a license agreement did not constitute a violation of an intellectual property right.