Client Alerts

On December 22, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board published, in the Federal Register, "Proposed Rules Governing Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act." For 60 days following December 22nd, members of the public may submit comments about these proposed rules to the NLRB.

These Proposed Rules confirm that the current NLRB will act aggressively to help labor unions.

On December 16, in a conference call which included U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director David Kappos and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm it was announced that the USPTO will locate its first Regional Patent Office in Detroit, Michigan. Employing 100 patent examiners at the outset, the regional office is scheduled to open sometime in 2011. In part, this move by the USPTO is intended to facilitate the hiring of additional qualified examiners and so reduce the present pendency of patent applications at the USPTO. According to Secretary Locke, the goal is to "get down to a 1 year review."

According to USPTO Director Kappos, the corps of examiners in the new Detroit Regional Office will represent, at least in part, technologies that mesh well with local industries, including automotive and emerging technologies.