In the News
Proposed HIPAA Privacy Rule Amendments
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on January 21, 2021 which is currently open for comment until March 21, 2021. This proposed rule constitutes the most recent step in HHS’s “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care,” and is intended to improve care coordination and case management
Trademark Modernization Act of 2020
The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TM Act) is included in Subtitle B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, signed into law on December 27, 2020. This law will make several statutory changes to the Trademark Act; each of these changes will be addressed in further detail below. Third-Party Submissions of Evidence The first
Update on Patentability of Digital Designs
On December 21, 2020, the USPTO issued a request for comments on whether its interpretation of the “article of manufacture” requirement for design patents (35 U.S.C. § 171) should be revised to broaden the scope of patentable subject matter to cover new and developing forms of intangible digital designs. A design patent is granted to
New Law: The Internet of Things Cybersecurity Act
On December 4, 2020, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 was signed into law. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the interconnection of, and sharing of information between, devices through a network. This includes essentially any device that has at least one sensor that interacts with the outside world and one