Franchisors, like other businesses, should periodically review their insurance policies to make certain that they understand the scope of their existing coverage and to identify (and remedy) any significant gaps in that coverage.
In this economic environment, the word "change" looms large in professional services dialogue. Professions can be fairly rigid and resistant to innovation. But the times seem to have accelerated the need for new ideas and structures to cope with new economic and social problems and opportunities.
Several states have enacted laws to protect the employment rights of domestic violence victims, New York among them. Here's why.
In the wake of a high-profile case that highlighted discovery abuses by federal prosecutors, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance regarding the government's discovery obligations on Jan. 4, 2010.
On Jan. 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest of 22 individuals as part of a "sting" operation aimed at uncovering violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). As intended, the case got a great deal of publicity due to both the large number of individuals arrested and the manner in which the investigation was handled.
Is there room in the legal market for a third high-end legal research service? That is the question as Bloomberg, a company known for its financial news, attempts to muscle in on the turf now occupied by Westlaw and LexisNexis. In December, it officially launched Bloomberg Law.
The proposed merger between Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. won Justice Department approval in January 2010, following a year of negotiations. Steven Sletten of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher counseled Ticketmaster. In an interview, Sletten stated that he prepared his client to face a tough audience, both at the Justice Department and in the court of public opinion.
In Starbucks Corp. v. Wolfe's Borough Coffee, Inc., the Second Circuit rejected the district court's determination — based on pre-TDRA case law — that trademark owners must show "substantial similarity" between the trademarks at issue in order to prevail on a dilution by blurring claim under the TDRA. Citing the language of the TDRA, the appellate court found that the new statute required only "similarity," and that even "minimal similarity" could, in the proper case, suffice to support a claim.
Broadly defined, the right of publicity is a person's right to control the commercial use of his or her identity. It has been over half a century since the term "right of publicity" was first coined by Judge Jerome Frank in 1953. Since that time, courts have been struggling to define the scope of the right of publicity protection, and to resolve the inherent conflicts between the right of publicity and the freedom of expression embodied in the First Amendment.
In Wells Fargo & Company v. United States, a court considered for the first time SILOs involving domestic municipal transit agency lessees. While one would have thought that the domestic and federally approved nature of the transactions would have some influence on the decision, they did not.
