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Are Experts Required?
One of the first things that a party does when planning a patent litigation or when sued for patent infringement is hire a phalanx of experts. However, what gets lost in the equation is the preliminary questions of “are all of these experts necessary?” and “will their testimony be accepted by the court?”
It is clear that patent litigations are complex. This is shown, for example, by the cost. The last AIPLA survey (from 2003) estimated that the cost of a single patent litigation through the end of discovery with between $1 million and $25 million at risk can often exceed $2 million and easily reach $4 million; the litigation will often run several years. Additional patents, secondary issues and greater financial risk can increase these costs dramatically. Expert fees are frequently the second largest component of the cost of a patent litigation after the fees of the attorneys involved in the case.
Several types of experts can be, and often are, retained for use in a patent litigation. Technical experts perform infringement and non-infringement analyses, invalidity and validity analyses, and sometimes assist the court and jury to understand the technology at issue. Damages experts are employed to analyze financial data to calculate lost profit and reasonable royalty damages. Patent law experts testify regarding the procedures of the U.S. Patent Office. The testimony of other types of experts has also been found by courts to be helpful, as discussed below.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.