Reliance on Technology May Compromise Your Ability to Protect Your Trade Secrets The use of smartphones, tablets, laptops and other personal devices in the workplace is commonplace. But allowing your employees to access trade secret information on them without implementing appropriate restrictions or protections could be fatal to a later enforcement action. A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals underscores a company’s obligation to take sufficient steps to protect its electronic data if the company later wants to...

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By Melissa Manna, Ogletree Deakins U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the reinstatement of the premium processing program for a limited number of H-1B petitions. Premium processing will resume on January 28, 2019, for fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap cases (those subject to the annual quota). FY 2019 H-1B cap cases were those that were filed in April 2018 and were subject to the annual H-1B lottery. Because most of those cases have already been adjudicated, the resumption of premium processing is...

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By Marc S. Friedman | Director of Professional Relations| Global Commerce Education In the most recent article in this series, I explained how many non-US companies, including Baltic businesses, refrain from doing business in the US because of  Myths #6 and 7 - The US is very litigious and that is too threatening to a small company like ours. As a result, the risk of liability and lawsuits relating to our products and/or services is too great. In this installment, I...

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On December 29, 2018, the Italian Parliament enacted the Budget Law 2019 (Law n. 145 of 2018) (the “Law”). This article illustrates the most significant tax measures of the Law that may be of interest to U.S. multinationals or investors with operations in Italy. 1. Corporate income tax at 15% Starting from the 2019 fiscal year (the “FY 2019”), companies that meet certain requisites will benefit from a reduction of the standard 24% corporate tax income (the so-called “IRES”) by nine...

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By Ethan Jorgensen-Earp| Sara M Klock |Michael J Werner|    On January 25, President Trump announced that the White House and congressional leaders in the House and Senate have reached an agreement to fund the government on a short-term continuing resolution (CR) through Feb. 15 to end the 35-day government shutdown.   The CR would fund all currently unfunded departments, including the operations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at slightly less than FY 2018 levels, and would provide a vehicle to move...

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Tradewind has announced that it has provided a $500,000 non-recourse export factoring facility to a leading designer, manufacturer, and exporter of technical tubes and hoses based in Spain. The company, whose products are used in the industrial, agricultural, construction, and gardening sectors, sells domestically and exports to countries throughout Europe. It will apply proceeds from the facility to fund the working capital needs of its tubing business so it can maximize growth abroad. Although the company was equipped with the...

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The Toy Association’s Board of Directors Nominating Committee, chaired by John Gessert, president and CEO of American Plastic Toys, today announced the final slate of nominees to serve on the Association’s Board of Directors for two-year terms beginning in February. The new board members will participate in their first formal board meeting in June.  The Committee chose to fill four of a total five open board seats.  The 2019-2021 nominees, all representing manufacturers are: John Frascotti, president and COO, Hasbro; ...

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By Philip Nolan | Mason Hayes & Curran The rise of internet-based communications has complicated the ability of law enforcement to gather evidence in criminal investigations. Compounding the problem is the fact that technology companies often store users’ data at a great distance from the physical location of their customers. As a result, when law enforcement is investigating crimes with a cross-border element, their powers are often curtailed by outdated or prolonged cooperation mechanisms. With many technology companies’ EU or EMEA headquarters located...

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