Dodd and Shelby suspended bipartisan talks in the last few weeks after not being able to agree over some key items, including the scope of a new consumer protection agency.

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But the real baffling part about all this is that the CFPB will have a much greater scope of consumer protection to manage than the SEC.

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And it will mean less tension between the sellers of protection (who want the swaps' scope as narrow as possible) and buyers (who want it to be as wide as possible).

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Mr Grayling said he wanted Sir James to "consider if you might extend the scope of your work on transparency in the family courts to include arrangements for the Court of Protection".

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If that weren't enough, the very scope of patents themselves has come under legal attack, with cases being argued in court to determine whether broadening protection or narrowing it hastens or hinders innovation.

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