The European Union ("EU") is rolling out the new "unitary" patent, which will be administered by a new Unified Patent Court. The unitary patent will be valid in 25 EU states; as of today, two EU members, Spain and Italy, are not participating in the new system. The unitary patent is expected to come into force as early as January 1, 2014, after one more procedural vote is taken. The unitary patent will not replace, but rather will co-exist with,...

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United States Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”) has announced significant changes to its guidelines for the acceptance and processing of late-filed petitions by principals and sureties seeking mitigation of claims for liquidated damages. The new guidelines are effective with respect to all liquidated damages claims for which a late petition is filed on or after January 9, 2013. For more information on this article, please click here. For additional information or questions please contact Edward B. Ackerman at (212)-557-4000.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently has set its sights on registered entities and their officers and directors for overvaluing the entities' assets.  On October 17, 2012, the SEC charged Yorkville Advisors LLC (Yorkville), a $1 billion Jersey City, N.J. hedge fund firm, and two of its executives with scheming to overvalue assets and exaggerate reported returns in order to hide losses and increase fees collected from investors. On November 28, 2012, the SEC accepted Offers of Settlement from...

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On January 3, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that $1.26 million in penalties will be paid collectively by four national retailers to settle charges that the companies mislabeled various textile products. According to the FTC, the products were labeled and advertised as made of bamboo, when in fact such products were made of rayon, resulting in a violation of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the FTC’s textile rules. The FTC alleges that these companies continued to...

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Courtesy of EACCNY Founding Member Pepper Hamilton, LLP The recently enacted Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) brings a new economic environment for investors raising countless questions regarding its impact on capital formation, IPOs and securities offerings, early stage fundraising (including "Crowdfunding"), new regulatory frameworks and private equity and traditional investments. This webcast covered many of the most critical issues surrounding the JOBS Act affecting small, mid-cap and larger companies. The panel of thought leaders shared their expert opinions and...

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On New Year's Day 2013, the "American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012" (the Act) was enacted to avoid the impact of automatic "fiscal cliff" tax increases. The Act, effective January 1, 2013, retains and makes permanent the Bush-era income tax rates for all but high-income taxpayers, makes permanent the current estate tax exemption with a slight increase in the marginal estate tax rate, and makes important business tax changes. The elimination of "sunset" provisions in the income and estate tax should...

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