Law prof Ruthann Robson comments on the Supreme Court’s decision in IMS v. Sorrell: As expected from the oral argument in April, the Court’s opinion today in IMS v. Sorrell finds Vermont’s statute prohibiting the practices that allow pharmaceutical detailing to be unconstitutional. The opinions can be said to answer this query: When is a commercial speech regulation…
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Supreme Court strikes down Vermont's prescription data-mining law
Well, a lot of erudite lawyers saw this one coming, but it’s still disappointing that Vermont’s data-mining law has been struck down. Howard Bashman announced the bad news: Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., No. 10-779. Justice Breyer issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg and Kagan joined. You…
AU: Parting ‘prank’ prompts online privacy scandal
Alys Francis reports: A Sydney fruit delivery company has become embroiled in a privacy scandal after customers were informed their credit card details had been hacked. Flemington Direct customers received an email last month, telling them their personal details had been hacked and advising them to cancel their credit cards. But it appears the situation…
Medical marijuana advocates set to file constitutional challenge
Jefferson Dodge reports: At least one Boulder County resident is planning to challenge state laws regulating the medical marijuana industry in court this month, and dispensaries are being asked to chip in to fund the effort. Kathleen Chippi, a Nederland resident and former dispensary owner, says that within the next week, she plans to file…
Consumer privacy: Medical-records suit reinstated
Bob Egelko reports: Californians can sue doctors, debt collectors and others who disclose their confidential medical information to a credit reporting agency, the state Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous, potentially wide-ranging decision. The justices Thursday reversed a state appellate court that, like most federal judges who have considered the issue, concluded that federal…
Hospital turns to palm reading to ID patients
Lucas Mearian reports: NYU Langone Medical Center said it is the first hospital in the Northeast to use a biometric infrared scanning system that converts a digital palm image into a unique patient ID. The technology, called PatientSecure is a biometric reader that uses an infrared light to map an image of the blood-flow pattern…