Articles

09.20.12

Preparing for Green Chemistry

After multiple proposals and nearly four years of public consultation, California recently reproposed its groundbreaking "green chemistry" regulations. Referred to as the "Safer Consumer Products" regulations, this program will ultimately require manufacturers to eliminate ...


08.20.12

First Amendment Bars Many Lanham Act Claims Concerning Artistic Uses of Trademarks

When Andy Warhol created his iconic "Campbell's Soup Cans" and "Brillo Boxes" works in the 1960s, it was rare for brand owners to assert Lanham Act claims over non-commercial uses of trademarks in artistic works. The climate has changed dramatically since then, as brand ...


08.15.12

Regulatory: Public Policy as a Solution, Not Just a Problem

In our recent series of articles we have discussed the impact that government policy is having on client's operations, opportunities and, ultimately, their bottom line. We have explored how everything from environmental policy to changing community redevelopment strategies affects the costs of ...


08.08.12

Healthcare Reform Is a Good Deal for States

The fight over health reform has plummeted from the stratospheric heights of constitutional jousting to nitty gritty decisions by states over whether they can afford reform. Critics warn states that reform will bankrupt them. The reality: states cannot afford to miss out on the cash and the almost ...


08.01.12

In the Wake of the Supreme Court Decision, Many Stakeholders Still Support the Affordable Care Act

Manatt’s Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health Solutions, coauthored an article with Lawrence Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, that focuses on stakeholders’ approach to the Affordable Care Act. The ...


08.01.12

Regulatory: Do You Need a Consultant or a Lobbyist?

As the interactions between business and government become more complex and fall under a wider and wider net, the need to hire government affairs specialists has increased proportionally. The influence of government is not just on politics, it is on policy and specifically, the policies that impact ...


08.01.12

Lessons From Project HealthDesign: Strategies for Safeguarding Patient-Generated Health Information ...

Leveraging the power of new technologies, researchers funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Project HealthDesign, to which Manatt attorneys and advisors serve as regulatory and policy counsel in partnership with the Center for Democracy and Technology, are encouraging patients to track ...


07.31.12

Blurring Lines and Increased Regulatory Risks for Data Brokers

The data broker industry is very much on the radar of regulators. In various forms, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made it clear that entities that collect and aggregate consumer information on a large scale from various sources are one of its highest priorities. This position was made very ...


07.25.12

Repeal Healthcare Law? Forget About It

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office added another reason to drop the politics and get down to the hard work of health care reform. The nonpartisan organization released a report that finds the cost of repealing the reform will balloon government deficits by $109 billion between 2013 and ...


07.23.12

10 Reasons Why Sustainable/Energy Retrofits of Commercial Buildings Will Be the Next Big Thing

According to the US Department of Energy, commercial buildings account for 35 percent of US (and 40 percent of global) electricity consumption. Existing commercial buildings on average spend 30 percent of their operating budgets on operating costs and account for close to 20 percent of all global ...