In an aging population, accumulations in employee retirement plans assume greater and greater importance. Nowhere is this more true than in divorce, when, for many couples, retirement savings represent the most significant part of their savings.
The start of same-sex marriages in California on June 16 made headlines across the country. However, it was not such a big deal for many U.S. companies. These businesses already give their gay and lesbian employees many of the same benefits that they provide to their married straight workers.
The Muniauction v. Thomson decision illustrates the Federal Circuit's application of the Supreme Court's decision on obviousness in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. and confirms the Federal Circuit's own decision on "joint or divided" infringement in BMC Resources, Inc. v. Paymentech.
More than a decade after the license agreement between The Topps Company and Stani expired, the question of who owns the rights to manufacture and distribute the original Bazooka' bubble gum formula in South America is still unresolved.
Closely held businesses produce over 50% of the Gross National Product ("GNP"). Less than 50% of these businesses have a continuation plan and almost one-third of these companies (29%) use a buy-sell arrangement to assist in their planning. Buy-Sell agreements are very simple tools that over the years have grown to meet increasing needs of closely held businesses.
In track, a runner "jumps the gun" when he or she begins running before the gun has sounded. A similar concept occurs when two competing firms that have agreed to merge begin coordinating their activities or combining their distribution networks before the merger closes. Here is what merging firms can and cannot do before the gun sounds.
What obligations does a buyer's broker have to different clients interested in purchasing the same property? When faced with that question in Rivkin v. Century 21 Teran Realty LLC, the Second Circuit certified the question to the New York Court of Appeals. Rivkin answered at least one significant question surrounding the obligations of a buyer's broker, but the Court of Appeals opinion raised new questions whose resolution will await future litigation (or legislation).
A look at recent rulings of importance.
Commentary on the latest cases.
