Michael Hiltzik at the LA Times thinks so. Read his column "Congress's horse-and-buggy computer laws" to find out why he says federal computer laws aimed mainly at protecting intellectual property are hurting ordinary consumers and need to be re-thought.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
We have blogged several times (here, here, here, here, and here) about the Federal Trade Commission's challenges to "pay-to-delay" settlements between brand-name and generic drug companies, in which the brand-name company pays the generic to delay selling a generic equivalent of the brand-name drug. The Legal Times reports that the new chair of the Senate's […]
As Todd Ruger explains in this National Law Journal article, "Senate Republicans are looking to stop work at the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, piggybacking on a federal appeals court ruling that invalidated some of President Barack Obama's controversial recess appointments."
by Brian Wolfman On January 25, 2013, Steve Schultze of Princeton University spoke about the fee-based system for access to federal court documents known as PACER. (PACER stands for Public Access to Court Electonic Records.) At a Capitol Hill event sponsored by the Advisory Committee on Transparency, Schultze said that PACER charges far more than […]
That's the name of a new piece by University of Texas law prof Linda Mullenix. Here's the abstract, with emphasis added to the last paragraph: In the past few years, the term “quasi-class action” has been appearing with increasing, uncritical frequency in a spate of federal court decisions. While it may be premature to characterize […]
This NPR story this morning takes a look at Florida's judicial foreclosure process, comparing it unfavorably with other states where foreclosures move faster. A banker blames the courts and defense attorneys; a judge blames the banks sloppy paperwork; a defense attorney chimes in for consumer protection. Worth a listen (or read), though the thrust of […]
by Brian Wolfman We have covered the D.C. Circuit's recent ruling striking down President Obama's "recess" appointments to the NLRB here, here, here, and here. In defending the case, government lawyers did not argue that the case was not justiciable under the political question doctrine, and the D.C. Circuit did not raise and decide the […]
by Brian Wolfman Typically, consumers buy or lease new (and used) cars from car dealers, not car makers. When Toyota owners sued Toyota over faulty anti-lock brakes recently, Toyota sought to compel arbitration, invoking the arbitration clauses in purchase contracts that the individuals plaintiffs had with various Toyota dealers. Believe it or not, that gambit […]
That's what the Federal Communications Commission would like to see, as explained in this front-page Washington Post article by Cecilia Kang. As you might imagine, some industries like this idea a tad better than others. Here's a short excerpt: The federal government wants to create super WiFi networks across the nation, so powerful and broad […]
by Brian Wolfman The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued this final rule that will require manufacturers of drugs, biologics, medical devices, and certain other medical products to report annually to the Secretary of HHS about the payments the manufacturers make to doctors and hospitals. The Secretary is then required to […]