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Supreme Court Rules Naturally Occurring Human DNA Not Elligible for Patenting

June 18, 2013

Retrieved from: commons.wikimedia.org In a landmark decision, the U.S Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that companies cannot patent human DNA. Contending this case is Myriad Genetics, who claimed that because they had discovered and isolated two human DNA genes, named BRCA1 and BRCA2, they could put a patent on their use. The court found that…

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Supreme Court Rules against Requiring Voters to Prove Citizenship

June 18, 2013

Retrieved from: commons.wikimedia.org In prior blog posts, we have written about Arizona immigration laws being struck down by the Supreme Court. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled once again against Arizona, claiming the state may not require proof of citizenship from people seeking to vote in federal elections. Prior to the ruling, Arizona required people…

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Obama in Berlin

June 18, 2013

Am Dienstagabend, den 18. Juni 2013 wird Barack Obama mit seiner Familie am Flughafen Berlin Tegel erwartet. Die Stadt ist schon seit einiger Zeit im Ausnahmezustand um den strengen Sicherheitsanforderungen der Stufe 1+ zu genügen: Gullydeckel müssen zugeschweißt, Mülltonnen entfernt und ganze Straßenzüge abgesperrt werden. Alle Orte, die der 44. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von…

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Immigration Reform Bill Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee

June 7, 2013

Retrieved from: commons.wikimedia.org In a prior blog post, we discussed that the S.744 Immigration Reform bill that was introduced in the Senate provoke spars between business groups and organized labor. On May 21, this bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be sent to the Senate floor where it will be debated…

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Mayor’s International Community Awards: Congratulations to BridgehouseLaw Charlotte!

June 1, 2013

The Mayor’s International Community Awards (MICA) are hosted by the Charlotte International Cabinet and the Office of the Mayor of Charlotte. MICA honors foreign-owned firms in the Charlotte area for contributions to Philanthropy. There are three categories for companies based on the number of employed people in the Charlotte region. Reinhard von Hennigs, Managing Partner…

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U.S. Companies Increasingly Refusing to Conform to German Labor Practices

May 31, 2013

Retrieved from: commons.wikimedia.org It’s no secret that U.S. and German labor practices are quite different. The U.S. is noticeably stricter on the rights and benefits of employees, whereas Germany seems to favor more employee prerogatives. A recent study even showed that the U.S. is the only wealthy nation in the world that does not have…

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German Vice Chancellor Calls for Change to German Law Concerning Dual Citizenship

May 30, 2013

Amidst an “integration summit” on Monday at the Chancellery in Berlin, German Vice Chancellor Phillipp Rösler demanded that newcomers to Germany be allowed to maintain their citizenship in their home country. Rösler hopes that this will help Germany to attract skilled immigrants from countries outside the EU. His position on the issue directly challenges the beliefs…

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N.C. General Assembly Proposes Tax Reform for North Carolina

May 21, 2013

The N.C. General Assembly has introduced a massive tax reform that would affect income, sales, and estate tax throughout the entire state. The goal of this tax reform is to reduce tax rates on investment and produce a net tax cut. This tax reform is similar to one introduced by the N.C. Senate last week.…

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Status of Several NC Bills

May 21, 2013

Some interesting and controversial bills are being passed around House and Senate this month. Here is a short overview: Anti-LEED Bill (House Bill 628) On May 13, 2013, the NC House of Representatives passed the third reading of the Anti-LEED Bill. House Bill 628 with the title Promote/Protect Lumber is intended to protect North Carolina timber…

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Arizona-Style Einwanderung auch für North Carolina?

May 16, 2013

Der sog. “Reclaim N.C. Act” beinhaltet die Forderung nach einem begründeten Erlass für eine umfassende Gesetzgebung zum Thema Einwanderung in North Carolina. Der Gesetzesentwurf kombiniert Führerscheinprivilegien und neue Einschränkungen für illegale Einwanderer. Die konkreten Bestimmungen der Gesetzesvorlage sind: die Erlaubnis aller lokalen Exekutivorgane (sprich: der Polizei), den Einwanderungsstatus abzufragen  die Versorgung illegaler Einwanderer mit zeitlich…

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