By Alex E. Jones Under the Lanham Act, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has traditionally denied trademark applications for trademarks which “may disparage… persons… institutions, beliefs, or national symbols….” (U.S.C. § 1052). This is commonly...
Client Alerts
Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule Now in Effect
By Justine Lara Konicki and Ray Junaid On June 9, 2017, the Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule” went into effect, despite several dissenting opinions from House Republicans, and a two-month delay and review by the Trump Administration. The rule is expected to be...
DOL Rescinds Obama-Era Persuader Rule
By Alex E. Jones In May 2017, Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) planned to rescind certain Obama-era regulations. Specifically, the current administration intends to...
Sixth Circuit Applies Cat’s Paw Theory to FMLA Retaliation Claims
By Alex E. Jones In April, the Sixth Circuit ruled that employers can be held liable for Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) retaliation claims based on the “cat’s paw” theory. The Sixth Circuit has previously applied the cat’s paw theory to other discrimination...
KJK Client Alert – Ohio Companies Being Targeted by Sophisticated Cyber Criminals
Sophisticated cyber criminals are targeting Ohio-based companies at an increasing rate. KJK clients have reported an increase in the following criminal activity that we want to bring to your attention. Cyber criminals are clandestinely monitoring email and network...
Congress and White House Roll Back Online Privacy Protections
By Alex E. Jones On April 3rd, President Trump signed a bill repealing online privacy rules that were set to go into effect later this year. The rules were passed by the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) in October 2016. The new rules would have required...
In Landmark Decision, Seventh Circuit Says Title VII Protects Sexual Orientation
By Alex E. Jones On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation – the highest court to reach such a conclusion. Title VII prohibits...
Demonstrating Continued Use of Your Trademark Just Got a Little More Difficult
By Alex E. Jones On March 21, 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued a new rule concerning Section 8 and Section 71 trademark affidavits. The USPTO will now issue post-registration Office actions, requiring registrants to submit evidence...
The Cost of a Data Breach
By Alex E. Jones Large-scale data breaches of big corporations are becoming an almost weekly event. Despite the regularity of these breaches, the true extent of the legal and financial consequences for these companies and their executives and shareholders remains...
What the Immigration Ban Means for Employers
By Alex E. Jones President Trump made headlines this past week when he issued an executive order titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” (the “Executive Order”). The Executive Order, among other things, (i) suspends...