On March 4, 2021, Brazil deposited with the United Nations its ratification of the Nagoya Protocol (“Protocol”) (see here the announcement of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs).  This represents Brazil’s formal commitment to be bound by the Protocol.

On August 6, 2020, the Brazilian Senate passed a Decree that ratifies the Nagoya Protocol. The Protocol complements Brazil’s existing access and benefit sharing rules relating to Brazil’s genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge (“ABS Framework”).  One important effect of this ratification is that other countries parties to the Protocol will have to ensure that users of Brazilian genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge comply with the Brazilian ABS Framework.  However, the inverse is also true.  Brazil will need to ensure that Brazilian users of foreign genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge comply with the access and benefit sharing regime of the country of origin.

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important changes…

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important changes…

Two recent actions by lawmakers are intended to address certain uses of technology in health. First, two Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill related to the collection and use of identifiable health data from wearable health trackers.  Second, following an appeal from Democratic lawmakers, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (“AHRQ”) plans to review the use of race-based algorithms in medical care.

On March 2, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), becoming the second U.S. state to enact a comprehensive privacy law (Nevada has enacted an online privacy law, albeit with a narrower scope).  As we have previously explained, the VCDPA follows the framework established by the Washington Privacy Act.  We recently compared Virginia’s law against other key state privacy frameworks.

Food safety standards and food labeling and testing regulations are core parts of China’s food law and regulation. A lookback at drafts in 2020 illustrates that many important rules and standards on labeling, packaging, and testing are under revision, and while timelines are difficult to predict, there could be notable changes to such regulations and…

Financial institutions are consistently targets of congressional oversight interest. In the last Congress, House and Senate committees held hearings with, demanded documents from, requested interviews with, and hosted briefings from a number of bank and non-bank financial institutions regarding a variety of issues. In a recent client alert, we looked at recent trends in…

A heightened focus on green finance and green investments has renewed legislative impetus, culminating in a series of regulatory developments across the European Union and more recently, the UK.  Some of these notable developments encompass green efforts by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures; the European Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95/EU; and the European…