Articles

10.06.15

Charisma vs. Competence: The D.A. Races in Nassau and Staten Island

There are two very intriguing district attorney races on the ballot this November, in Nassau County and Staten Island, which are not getting the attention they deserve. Both races present voters with the same clear choice: Do they want political potential from candidates they know, or ...


09.28.15

The FCA and Overpayments: 'Kane' Creates New Risks for Healthcare Providers

Healthcare providers that treat Medicare and Medicaid patients regularly face a quandary: What should they do when faced with the possibility that they may have been overpaid by the government for their services? Overpayments could result from innocent coding errors stemming from confusion over ...


09.24.15

Homeopathic Product Advertising: Some Takeaways From FTC's Workshop

On September 21, the Federal Trade Commission held its all-day workshop on homeopathic medicine and advertising. Three panels presented on "Homeopathic Industry and Advertising," "Scientific Support for Homeopathic Advertising Claims" and "Legal/Regulatory Issues Presented ...


09.24.15

Homeopathic Product Advertising: Some Takeaways From FTC's Workshop

On September 21, the Federal Trade Commission held its all-day workshop on homeopathic medicine and advertising. Three panels presented on "Homeopathic Industry and Advertising," "Scientific Support for Homeopathic Advertising Claims" and "Legal/Regulatory Issues Presented ...


09.17.15

Implications of the California Drought on Energy Use and Climate Concerns

California's drought is now in its fourth year, and state leaders are faced with making unprecedented decisions further restricting water use. The brown lawns and dying trees are all too obvious and painful examples of the drought's impact. However, somewhat lost in the public discussion, but ...


09.09.15

GMOs and Chipotle Chatter

A reporter from NPR contacted me for an article she was writing about the consumer class action lawsuit recently filed against Chipotle based on its GMO claims. The suit alleges that the restaurant chain is misleading consumers because some of the soft drinks it sells contain GMO ingredients, and ...


09.07.15

Federal Circuit Rules for Substance Over Form

A decision that has perhaps not yet received the recognition it deserves is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's June en banc decision Williamson v. At Home Bondholder.It deals with a fairly arcane bit of patent law—"means plus function" claim drafting. As the terms suggests, it ...


09.01.15

Tom Brady, Deflategate and the Legacy of Kenesaw Mountain Landis

If Tom Brady wins his pending court case about deflated footballs, he will have something in common with the eight players who were tried in the so-called Black Sox scandal involving the fixing of the 1919 World Series: it is a little-known fact that those players were acquitted in a Chicago ...


09.01.15

Can You Believe It's Not Mayonnaise?

In 1979, food technologists at J.H. Filbert developed a new vegetable oil-based spread. It looked, tasted, and felt like butter, but it contained no dairy and was not butter. What should they call it? As the story goes, a secretary tried the product and exclaimed: "I can't believe it's not ...


08.27.15

It's Your Copyright. Don't Apologize for Defending It

We live in a world where many share the belief that content is 'free,' while rampant piracy has been significantly curtailed by new legitimate services and business models (like subscription streaming). But, it just ain't so.One of the biggest and pervasive myths is that piracy is actually ...