In United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V.,[1] SCOTUS held that a mark styled as “generic.com” is eligible for federal trademark registration if the applicant shows “generic.com” is not a generic name to consumers. Although the Court did not expressly say so, this decision chips away
Lauren Rucinski
Sellers and Distributors of Disinfectants Beware: The Virus Causing COVID-19 Is a “Pest” Under FIFRA
By Lauren Rucinski on
Posted in COVID-19, Environmental Litigation and Regulation
Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”), most pesticides must be registered and are subject to product labeling requirements. FIFRA defines a “pesticide” as “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.” 7 U.S.C. § 136(u). A “pest” is defined in the statute to mean: “…
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Makes it Illegal to Hoard Certain PPE, Ventilators and Sanitizing/Disinfecting Products
By Lauren Rucinski on
On Monday, March 30, 2020 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued a notice in the Federal Register declaring certain goods as “scarce,” which means it is illegal to hoard those items. The DHHS is acting under authority granted by President Trump under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (the “Act”).[1]…
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Issues COVID-19 Order
By Dwayne Johnson, Pamela Mascari & Lauren Rucinski on
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) issued an Emergency and Administrative Order on March 19, 2020, to address hardships posed to regulated facilities by efforts to combat the COVID-19 virus. See the order here. The Order expires on April 18, 2020. The Order may be extended and/or amended as the situation evolves. At…
Chemical Safety Board’s New Release Reporting Rules in Effect March 2020
By Lauren Rucinski on
Posted in Environmental Litigation and Regulation
Starting March 23, 2020, facilities must add one more agency to the list of those that may need to be notified in the event of an accidental release: The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (“CSB”).The CSB was established by the 1990 Clean Air Act (“CAA”) Amendments.[1] The CAA directs the CSB, among other things, to…
The New Wave, EPA and ACE Release the Proposed Definition of “Waters of the United States”
By Lauren Rucinski on
Posted in Environmental Litigation and Regulation
On Tuesday, December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers (“ACE”) proposed a rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States.” The so-called WOTUS rule defines the scope of Clean Water Act (“CWA”) jurisdiction and the permitting requirements thereunder, and has been in the hot seat for…
Net Neutrality Repealed: What it Means for Business
By Lauren Rucinski & Devin Ricci on
Posted in Business and Corporate, Intellectual Property
As of December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) repealed the so-called net neutrality regulations in a 3 to 2 vote along party lines. But what does this mean and how may this decision affect you or your business?
To be honest, it is too early to tell if derailing the short-lived regulation of…
Stay of the Stay: RMP Rule Evaluation Moves Forward
By Lauren Rucinski on
On August 30, 2017 the D.C. Circuit denied environmental and labor groups’ request to stay the Tump EPA’s final rule delaying the Obama-era amendments to the EPA’s Risk Management Program (“RMP”) rule. The RMP rule implements Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act and requires facilities that use extremely hazardous substances to develop and update…
EPA Approves Emergency Fuel Waiver for Areas in Louisiana in Response to Hurricane Harvey
By Lauren Rucinski on
On August 28, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) approved an emergency fuel waiver for areas for Louisiana affected by Hurricane Harvey. The waiver is an effort to minimize or prevent problems with the supply of gasoline. Sixteen parishes in the state are required to sell low Reid vapor pressure (“RVP”) gasoline,[i] having a…
A Plethora of Cases Could Affect WOTUS Rulemaking
By Lauren Rucinski on
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has an opportunity to rule on controversial Clean Water Act wetlands jurisdictional requirements through the appeal of a Montana man’s conviction for polluting a navigable waterway. US v. Joseph Robertson, No. 16-30178 (C.A. 9). The timing of the appeal could affect the Trump administration’s efforts to take…