WASHINGTON, D.C.–Today the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ruled against attempts by U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to force the Federal Election Commission to unilaterally change its donor disclosure rules, The Hispanic Leadership Fund previously filed, and the court accepted, its motion to intervene as a defendant in the case. Hispanic Leadership Fund President Mario H. Lopez commented on the decision, saying “We are glad that the Hispanic Leadership Fund can be at the forefront of protecting the First Amendment rights of our members and all who seek to inform the American...
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There are many great situations to emulate the saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” For President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency, that approach, when it comes to regulating carbon emissions, might come at a substantial cost to Nevada’s power grid and its people. Early on in President Obama’s administration, he proposed a “Cap and Trade” scheme as a purported method of curbing emissions, but was defeated by a Congress controlled by Democrats. Undeterred, the White House handed off the Cap and Trade plan to the EPA, which earlier this fall introduced its final version of...
Read MoreThe Hispanic Leadership Fund has closely followed the ongoing design patent dispute between Apple and Samsung. Apple continues to seek damages for the alleged infringement on two of its patents, one of which was already been deemed invalid by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Just today, Samsung filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to hear the case. As HLF President Mario H. Lopez wrote in a recently published piece in The Hill, “We are invested in the outcome of this lawsuit because the implications will impact consumers, particularly those from minority and...
Read MoreThe Obama Administration’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC) has just released a new report on the status of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a new trade agreement between the United States. and 11 other countries around the Pacific Rim. The TPP agreement is set to lower intellectual property protections for promising new biologic medicines by setting the minimum period for data protection at eight years—down from the current 12 year standard in the U.S. where many biologic manufacturers are located. While the ITAC report states that this shortened period will create uncertainty for the inventors of innovative...
Read MorePresident Obama’s proposed Clean Power Plan, which is currently undergoing a public comment period, is being justifiably criticized as a prohibitively expensive and ineffective way to reduce carbon emissions in the United States. The plan will result in the closing of many power plants, leaving working families to pay for energy sources that are costlier and less reliable. With the release of the final rule, independent consulting firm NERA conducted a study (using the EPA’s own data) of the effects on the rule on energy markets throughout the country. The results are shockingly bad. The new regulation will have significant...
Read MoreToday the U.S. Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the “Financial and Economic Challenges in Puerto Rico.” Absent from the list of witnesses list is Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro García Padilla, who has been advocating for Chapter 9 bankruptcy for the Island and whose policies have worsened the economic environment in Puerto Rico. García Padilla declined an invitation to appear, according to a press release issued last week by Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is disappointing that Governor García Padilla has declined to participate in today’s hearing. This...
Read MoreThis week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Samsung’s motion for a stay pending their appeal to the Supreme Court in their design patent case with Apple. Following this denial, Apple’s lawyers requested entry of a “partial final judgment” to request that the damages (other than those related to devices for which trade dress was also claimed and later found invalid) must be paid by Samsung now, rather than following the conclusion of the appellate process. However, timing is everything. Apple’s request for immediate payment of the damages award coincides with reports that one of the...
Read MoreWe are extremely disappointed when we learned yesterday that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a petition for a rehearing en banc regarding the Apple v. Samsung case dealing with design patents. The Hispanic community has a vested interest in this case and we have spoken to these concerns numerous times throughout the course of the legal proceedings. The technology sector is now left with a bad standard that will have serious consequences for all consumers, and in minority and other communities that rely so heavily on smartphone devices remaining affordable and available. Essentially, the...
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