Features
Random House Suit Brings Renewed Push For 'E-Book' Rights in Older Contracts
The e-book format continues to be a growing force in book publishing. Worldwide sales are predicted to reach nearly $10 billion by 2016 ' compared to $3.2 billion in 2011. Current publishing agreements offered by book publishers unambiguously transfer electronic rights as well as print rights. But whether licenses granted by authors in older book publishing agreements can be construed to embrace this new technology is a major question for the industry. The answer will determine whether traditional publishers, or authors and the digital startups that some of them now choose to license to, will control e-book publishing of lucrative classic titles. This
Features
CAA and TV Writers Reach Accord in Age Discrimination Class Action Case
A class action filed by older television writers alleging widespread age discrimination by the Creative Artists Agency Inc. (CAA) settled recently, marking the end of related litigation against the major players in the entertainment industry.
Features
The America Invents Act
The law is, no question, significant ' even record-setting ' patent legislation. For proponents, the new law holds the promise of accomplishing two things, each of which is potentially profound, and each of which applies not only to traditional markets, but to e-commerce as well.
Features
New Rules Proposed for Debt Collectors and Reporting Agencies
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a proposed rule to include debt collectors and credit reporting agencies under its nonbank supervision program. These consumer financial market participants are not currently subject to federal supervision.
Features
The COACH Mark Is Famous, But Not Famous Enough to Support a Dilution Claim
Although acknowledging that the COACH mark for handbags and other luxury goods was famous enough for that fame to be a strong factor in a likelihood of confusion analysis, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has concluded that there was insufficient proof that the mark was a "household name" that was famous enough to support a claim of dilution against a third party's COACH-branded educational materials.
Features
New Requirements for Companies with Personal Information of MA Residents
Companies with personal information of Massachusetts residents must amend their existing contracts with vendors that handle such information to require the vendors' compliance with the Massachusetts data security regulations.
Features
Full Recourse Enforcement of Non-Recourse Loans
Two recent cases from Michigan could have far-reaching implications nationwide regarding the enforceability of non-recourse loans as fully recourse.
Features
Retirement Assets for Equitable Distribution
It has become common practice in equitable distribution calculations to reduce pension and other tax-deferred retirement asset valuations ... but there are several problems associated with this practice, and they should be considered by divorcing parties and their advisers.
Features
Cow Harbour True Lease Characterization Decision 'Released'
Whether a lease is a "true" or "finance" lease has been debated in Canadian courts for decades in many different contexts. The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench recently released one of the most important recent decisions in this debate and provided significant guidance as to how leases are to be classified in insolvency cases.
Features
In the Spotlight: Master Lease Boilerplates
Preparing and negotiating sublease agreements can be much more difficult than preparing and negotiating lease agreements. This is especially true with respect to so-called "boilerplate" provisions.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›
- What Does 2024 Hold for Cybersecurity?Our annual poll of experts on the trends and developments to watch out for in 2024 in AI, data privacy, cybersecurity, e-discovery and more.Read More ›