BW INSIGHTS

Trademark Consent and Coexistence Agreements

By Jordan Meggison-Decker | 08.24.2020
Usually, an entity registers their trademark to prevent consumer confusion and/or unpermitted use of their valuable branding. However, due to the sheer volume of new businesses annually and their tendency for rapid growth, it is not uncommon for two or more companies to use extremely similar marks without knowledge of the others’ existence. Most... Read More

USCIS Conducts Second H-1B Lottery

By BrownWinick | 08.24.2020
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has conducted a second H-1B lottery to select additional FY 2021 H-1B Cap cases. BrownWinick first reported the conclusion of the H-1B lottery selection in April; however, employers began to receive notifications of case selection late last week. This second lottery is in an effort to fill the FY... Read More

Department of Homeland Security Issues Guidance on Exemptions to Travel Bans

By BrownWinick | 08.24.2020
The Department of Homeland Security has issued guidance on exemptions to travel bans, specifically detailing exemptions to Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052, which together suspend the entry of certain immigrant visa applicants, and foreign nationals who present a risk to the U.S. economic recovery efforts in the wake of COVID-19, until... Read More

EU Court Rejects Privacy Shield, EU/U.S. Initiates Discussion on Alternatives

By BrownWinick | 08.24.2020
Privacy Shield, a program created by the U.S. Department of Commerce in conjunction with the European Union and Switzerland to help U.S. organizations conform to EU data privacy law when handling data, was invalidated in a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union on July 16, 2020. The Court first ruled the Privacy Shield framework... Read More

SBA Opens PPP Forgiveness Portal, But Banks Put on the Brakes

By BrownWinick | 08.12.2020
The Small Business Administration (SBA) officially opened its Paycheck Protection Program Forgiveness Portal to lenders starting on Monday, August 10, 2020. This means that banks who provided loans to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) may start processing applications from borrowers to have their loans entirely... Read More

Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program

By Kelli Orton | 08.12.2020
In an effort to reduce the number of evictions and foreclosures in the State of Iowa due to the pandemic, Governor Reynolds created the COVID-19 Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program. This program provides rental assistance or mortgage assistance for up to four months for a household who has had a reduction in income due to the pandemic.... Read More

The DOL Fiduciary Rule and NAIC Showdown:  Fiduciary or Not? 

By BrownWinick | 08.11.2020
Despite the apparent harmonization between the SEC Regulation BI (Section 240.151-1, eff. 6/5/19) https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2019 and the NAIC’s Revised Model on Suitability https://www.naic.org/store/free/MDL-275., the Department of Labor proposed a new fiduciary rule which contradicts the Model’s explicit language…the Care Obligation DOES... Read More

A Second Wave of Stimulus Relief Proposed by Congress

By BrownWinick | 07.28.2020
Congress is negotiating a new $1 trillion economic stimulus package to help millions of Americans and businesses keep afloat during the continued COVID-19 crisis. Among a host of other benefits, Congress has unveiled the following proposed benefits to help businesses hit hardest by the pandemic: A second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans... Read More

Proposed Legislation Could Provide Additional Relief to Small Farmers

By BrownWinick | 07.27.2020
Last week, U.S. Representatives Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) and Dan Bishop (R-NC) introduced bipartisan legislation that would permit farmers to use money from loans acquired through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to pay for rentals of equipment, land, and buildings. The proposed bill is titled the Expanding Assistance to Farmers Act of 2020... Read More

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