The Blog For Business Law

— By Joseph RolnickiMay 22, 20170 Comments

Outline Of The U.S. Patent Office Patent Examination Process

I was a Primary Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office many years ago. Much has changed at the Patent Office since I served as an Examiner. For example, when I was an Examiner, prior art searching or patentability searching was done manually. After…

— By Gerry RichardsonMarch 29, 20170 Comments

Employer Forms Disclosing & Authorizing Background Checks Must Exclude Liability Waivers

Good Reasons Support the Use of Background Checks in the Hiring Process. Many employers run background checks on job applicants before they make an employment offer. Doing so enables such employers to confirm the truthfulness and accuracy of background information provided by job applicants, such as…

— By Ron HackMarch 20, 20170 Comments

Big change in Missouri Personal Jurisdiction Law for Non-Missouri Corporations

The Missouri Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision filed on February 28, 2017, held that non-Missouri corporations would not be held subject to the personal general jurisdiction of Missouri courts in civil suits, unless the corporation was organized under Missouri law, had its principal place…

— By Joseph RolnickiFebruary 28, 20170 Comments

U.S. Patent Office Provides a Second Bite at the Apple After a Final Rejection

The U.S. Patent Office has extended the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) in its current form through September 30, 2017. This enables patent applicants to take a second bite at getting claims of their patent application that have been given a final rejection…

— By Larry SewellFebruary 20, 20170 Comments

Rescuing Your Defined Contribution Retirement Plan

A plan sponsor of a preapproved, prototype or volume submitter defined contribution plan, including a profit-sharing, 401(k) or money purchase plan, was required to amend and restate the plan’s governing documents by April 30, 2016. See the article “Deadline Looming for Changes to Your Company’s…

— By Ron HackFebruary 9, 20170 Comments

Employers and Product Suppliers Beware: Is Welding Rod Litigation Going to Come Back

The publication of a new study in Neurology, that contends the long-term effects of airborne manganese from welding may be associated with an increasing appearance of Parkinsonism symptoms in welders and other exposed individuals, may resurrect a species of toxic tort litigation that was thought…

— By Gerry RichardsonFebruary 3, 20170 Comments

Legislature Revives Right to Work Law and MHRA Amendments

During its legislative sessions in both 2015 and 2016, the Missouri General Assembly passed a right to work law. In each instance, then Governor Jay Nixon vetoed those laws, and the legislature’s backers of those laws lost veto override votes. Similarly, since a Missouri Supreme Court’s…

— By Jace BrothertonJanuary 24, 20170 Comments

New Year, New Laws in Missouri – Minimum Wage and Firearms

The bringing of a new year always involves the effectiveness of new legislation, and 2017 is no different. This Blog for Business Law post highlights some of the new laws that officially took effect January 1, 2017. Specifically, this post outlines two laws that could…

— By Gene SchmittgensJanuary 18, 20170 Comments

To Regulate, or Not to Regulate, That is the Question

We hear a lot of talk, especially during the elections, on the effect of regulations on businesses and the economy and just about everything else. While I cannot really address regulations in every business context, I can talk a little about environmental regulations because, that…

— By Alex HurstJanuary 11, 20170 Comments

Products-Liability Defendants Feeling the Baby (Powder) Blues in St. Louis

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” That is the message figuratively inscribed above the door of the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, at least if the American Tort Reform Association’s (ATRA) latest “Judicial Hellhole” rankings are to be believed. ATRA, a…