Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Home Topics

Commercial Law

Features

Sup. Ct. To Clarify <i>Fogerty</i> Copyright Attorney Fees Factors Image

Sup. Ct. To Clarify <i>Fogerty</i> Copyright Attorney Fees Factors

Lewis R. Clayton

For the second time in three years, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to consider important questions under the Copyright Act at the behest of Supap Kirtsaeng, a tenacious Thai math professor. In 2013, the Supreme Court handed Kirtsaeng an important victory in a litigation brought against him by a major publisher, holding that a copyrighted work published and purchased abroad may be resold in the United States without the permission of the copyright holder.

Features

Financing Statement Filed Without Debtors' Authorization Image

Financing Statement Filed Without Debtors' Authorization

Rudolph J. Di Massa Jr. & Chad E. Odhner

Under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a secured party can perfect its lien on certain of a debtor's assets by the filing of a UCC-1 financing statement. However, Section 9-509 of the UCC provides that a party may file such a financing statement only if the debtor authorizes the filing: either expressly in an authenticated record or, more commonly, by executing a security agreement.

Features

The NJ Franchise Practices Act and the Legacy of 'Instructional Systems' Image

The NJ Franchise Practices Act and the Legacy of 'Instructional Systems'

Marisa Rauchway Sverdlov

The New Jersey Franchise Practices Act is a powerful tool for those businesses that qualify for its protections. Under the NJFPA, a franchisor cannot terminate a franchisee without good cause, even where doing so would be perfectly acceptable under the parties' contract. The NJFPA also prohibits a franchisor from imposing "unreasonable standards of performance" on a franchisee.

Columns & Departments

Court Watch Franchisors Rebuff Franchisees' Claims Of Bad Behavior Image

Court Watch Franchisors Rebuff Franchisees' Claims Of Bad Behavior

Zach Eyster

The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, while not always a separate cause of action, depending on the jurisdiction, can be a powerful tool in a franchisee's arsenal to assert claims based on breaches of franchise agreements due to a franchisor's bad conduct. However, recent cases coming out of New York and Michigan demonstrate just how difficult it can be for a franchisee to make out a claim premised on the franchisor's poor behavior.

Features

The Raising of a Privacy Shield Image

The Raising of a Privacy Shield

Alisa L. Chestler & Tracy E. Weir

On Feb. 2, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission unveiled a new framework for personal data transfers from European Union (EU) Member States to the U.S. The new framework ' dubbed the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield ' will replace the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor program, which was invalidated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2015.

Features

Top Security Intrusion Trends the Legal Community Should Watch Image

Top Security Intrusion Trends the Legal Community Should Watch

Steven Chabinsky

Lawyers are increasingly expected to understand the implications of cybersecurity when providing advice relating to a long list of matters. Legal counsel, as trusted neutral advisors, are uniquely qualified to help navigate risk considerations and bridge customer deliverables and workforce expectations with adequate security and shifting legal requirements. As a result, it is important that lawyers understand the latest trends in cyber intrusions.

Features

They're With Us! Image

They're With Us!

Andrew K. Solow, Danelco Moxey & David A. Kerschner

Recently, faced with pressure to increase efficiency, companies have increased their dependence on outside entities to complete tasks that were once reserved for in-house employees. How does this affect the attorney-client privilege?

Features

<b><i>Online Extra:</b></i> FDIC Chimes In on Cybersecurity Image

<b><i>Online Extra:</b></i> FDIC Chimes In on Cybersecurity

Marlisse Silver Sweeney

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is the latest entity to release a framework for cybersecurity.

Features

Despite Reforms, Patent Cases Filed by NPEs Rose in 2015 Image

Despite Reforms, Patent Cases Filed by NPEs Rose in 2015

Lisa Shuchman

Despite changes in patent law expected to curb the filing of lawsuits by non-practicing entities, NPE litigation increased significantly in 2015.

Features

Texas Can Deny Film Grant over Movie's Content Image

Texas Can Deny Film Grant over Movie's Content

John Council

In a ruling certain to disappoint those who want to film B-grade action movies in Texas on the cheap, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided that the producers of <i>Machete Kills</i> don't have a First Amendment right to an incentive grant from the Texas Film Commission.

Need Help?

  1. Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
  2. Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
    'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.
    Read More ›
  • Divorce Lawyers' Obligation to Children
    Do divorce lawyers have an obligation to disclose client confidences when it is in the best interests of the client's child to do so? The short answer of the rules of professional responsibility is 'no' because a 'yes' answer is deemed to be fundamentally inconsistent with the premises of the adversary system in which the divorce lawyer functions. The longer answer is that the rules encourage ' but do not require ' a divorce lawyer to counsel the client to authorize the disclosure because it is in the best interests of both parent and child.
    Read More ›
  • Upping the Legal Training Ante
    Womble Carlyle's technology training and online learning programs were in need of an upgrade. Unprecedented firm growth, heightened emphasis on developing lawyers' core technology competencies, and a need to streamline and automate existing e-learning processes led the firm to initiate a fundamental shift.
    Read More ›