California enacts PFAS prohibition for textiles

By Will Troutman (US), Jeff Margulies (US) and Ray Muro (US) on September 30, 2022 Posted in General

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1817 into law, adding to the growing list of state legislation restricting the use of PFAS substances in a variety of consumer products. As of January 1, 2025, AB 1817 prohibits the manufacture, distribution, sale, or offer for sale in the state of “any new, not previously used, … Continue reading

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act enforcement strategy released

By Will Troutman (US), Jeff Margulies (US) and Phil Di Tullio (US) on June 17, 2022 Posted in Recent legislation and regulations

While we will have more to say shortly on the strategy itself, we wanted to make sure you all saw that the U.S. Government has released its enforcement strategy for the UFLPA, as well as its initial “entity” list. Check back soon for some insights from us on the guidance. Strategy: UFLPA Strategy | Homeland … Continue reading

Compliance with Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act remains a big “?”

By Will Troutman (US) and Phil Di Tullio (US) on May 26, 2022 Posted in ESG

The US continues to trail much of the world in the business human rights space, as there currently are no broad-based federal modern slavery laws similar to the UK or Australia modern slavery acts, nor any proposed federal legislation addressing modern slavery. Similarly, very little has happened at the state level. Historically, the only piece … Continue reading

Prop 65 proposed short form warning regulation lapses

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US), Lauren Shoor (US) and Eva Yang (US) on May 25, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65

There has been yet another update in the series of the latest Proposition 65 proposed rulemaking regarding short-form warnings. On January 8, 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) announced that it would amend the regulation relating to short-form Proposition 65 warning. After two sets of revisions to the proposed regulation, OEHHA … Continue reading

US lamp saga continues with onset of 45 lpw rule

By Will Troutman (US) and Ray Muro (US) on May 23, 2022 Posted in General, Recent legislation and regulations

In a fitting continuation of the battle for light bulbs, the US Department of Energy recently finalized rules prohibiting the sale of most general use lamps with an efficiency rating of less than 45 lumens per watt (lpw)(for anyone new to the area, “lamp” in this context means what you typically think of as a “light … Continue reading

California issues second set of revisions to Prop 65 short form warning regulation

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US) and Eva Yang (US) on May 3, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65, General

In the latest twist in California’s never-ending saga to amend the Proposition 65 “short-form” warning regulation, there’s now been a second proposed change. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has been for some time attempting to limit the use of short form warnings, although encountering significant push back and concerns from the … Continue reading

Ninth Circuit upholds preliminary injunction barring Prop 65 acrylamide lawsuits

By Jeff Margulies (US) on April 12, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65, Recent consumer products case law

A year ago, we wrote about a preliminary injunction that barred new lawsuits seeking to enforce California Proposition 65 cancer warning requirements for acrylamide in food. That injunction was appealed, and on March 17, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals–which is not known as “business friendly”–decided the injunction was proper. This is a major win for … Continue reading

California moves forward with revisions to Prop 65 short-form warning regulation

By Jeff Margulies (US), Will Troutman (US) and Lauren Shoor (US) on January 3, 2022 Posted in California Proposition 65, Recent legislation and regulations

Eleven months after issuing its original proposal to significantly restrict the use of so-called “short-form” Prop 65 safe harbor warnings, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) published a revised proposed regulation on December 13, 2021. The original proposal, which we summarized here, would have required businesses to make significant revisions to their … Continue reading

Plaintiffs must actually intend to use services for website accessibility claims

By Jeff Margulies (US) and Eva Yang (US) on October 25, 2021 Posted in General, Recent consumer products case law

Businesses scored a win in a recent California Court of Appeal decision affirming a defense jury verdict in a website accessibility lawsuit. In Cheryl Thurston v. Omni Hotels Management Corp., the court held that for a plaintiff to prevail in such a claim, she must show a “bona fide intent” to actually use the defendant’s … Continue reading

Consumer products and IP (Part 6): deriving a copyright for consumer products

By Tamsen Barrett (US), Thomas Orsak (US) and Sean Patrick McGinley (US) on September 13, 2021 Posted in General

Although other forms of intellectual property tend to be most relevant to consumer product makers, copyright ownership is also an important consideration and can play a key role in product development and protection. Copyrights protect artistic works, and given the creativity that goes into product design, there are many aspects of a consumer product that can … Continue reading