Developments of Note

The Diamond State recently enacted legislation creating a new form of corporate entity, the Headquarters Management Corp. The new entity will be taxable as a corporation, but if an entity elects to limit its activities to investment (eg, managing trademarks, patents, patent applications, trade names and similar types of intangible assets) or providing headquarters-management services to affiliated corporations ' or both these functions ' it can reduce its state tax liability by a maximum of 99%. The size of the tax reduction will depend on the qualified jobs provided to employees in Delaware or the extent to which the entity makes qualified economic-development expenditures. Existing Delaware holding companies can elect to be taxed under this new regime.

Federal legislation setting higher criminal penalties for identity-theft offenses was signed into law on July 15. The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, Pub. L. 108-275 (2004), establishes two categories of “aggravated identity theft” for which mandatory enhanced penalties are provided. A penalty of five years of imprisonment is specified for identity theft carried out in connection with terrorism, while a penalty of two years' imprisonment is specified for identity theft in connection with other felonies. These penalties are to be imposed in addition to any sentence applicable to the underlying felonies. One intended target of the legislation is “phishing” for personally identifying information, ie, the use of fake e-mails and Web sites to mislead individuals into revealing personal identifying information. The act would enhance the penalty for commission of a felony with respect to information obtained by phishing.

The decision of the California Secretary of State to withdraw regulatory approval for the use of certain electronic-voting systems was upheld against a multipart challenge claiming that electronic voting ensured the right of disabled voters to vote independently. American Association of People With Disabilities v. Shelley, No. CV 04-01526 (C.D. Cal. July 6, 2004). The court held that claims under the Americans With Disabilities Act and disability-related provisions of the Help America Vote Act and the California Elections Code were not likely to succeed on the merits, because the right to vote “unassisted and in private” is not a right currently protected by law. In rejecting the plaintiffs' claims under the equal-protection clause, the court ruled that the decision of the secretary of state to withdraw approval because of concerns about the security of electronic-voting systems was “a rational one, designed to protect the voting rights of the state's citizens.”

DE Approves New Corp Entity To Offer
IP Owners Tax Savings

The Diamond State recently enacted legislation creating a new form of corporate entity, the Headquarters Management Corp. The new entity will be taxable as a corporation, but if an entity elects to limit its activities to investment (eg, managing trademarks, patents, patent applications, trade names and similar types of intangible assets) or providing headquarters-management services to affiliated corporations ' or both these functions ' it can reduce its state tax liability by a maximum of 99%. The size of the tax reduction will depend on the qualified jobs provided to employees in Delaware or the extent to which the entity makes qualified economic-development expenditures. Existing Delaware holding companies can elect to be taxed under this new regime.

Federal legislation setting higher criminal penalties for identity-theft offenses was signed into law on July 15. The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, Pub. L. 108-275 (2004), establishes two categories of “aggravated identity theft” for which mandatory enhanced penalties are provided. A penalty of five years of imprisonment is specified for identity theft carried out in connection with terrorism, while a penalty of two years' imprisonment is specified for identity theft in connection with other felonies. These penalties are to be imposed in addition to any sentence applicable to the underlying felonies. One intended target of the legislation is “phishing” for personally identifying information, ie, the use of fake e-mails and Web sites to mislead individuals into revealing personal identifying information. The act would enhance the penalty for commission of a felony with respect to information obtained by phishing.

The decision of the California Secretary of State to withdraw regulatory approval for the use of certain electronic-voting systems was upheld against a multipart challenge claiming that electronic voting ensured the right of disabled voters to vote independently. American Association of People With Disabilities v. Shelley, No. CV 04-01526 (C.D. Cal. July 6, 2004). The court held that claims under the Americans With Disabilities Act and disability-related provisions of the Help America Vote Act and the California Elections Code were not likely to succeed on the merits, because the right to vote “unassisted and in private” is not a right currently protected by law. In rejecting the plaintiffs' claims under the equal-protection clause, the court ruled that the decision of the secretary of state to withdraw approval because of concerns about the security of electronic-voting systems was “a rational one, designed to protect the voting rights of the state's citizens.”