Features
SEC Sets Limits on Crowdfunding
On Oct. 30, 2015, the SEC issued new regulations to complete its work for implementing the sections of the JOBS Act that, for the first time, permit use of the Internet to raise equity financing. These latest regulations are scheduled to go into effect on May 16, 2016.
Features
Does Liability Insurance Cover Fantasy Sports Disputes?
It used to be that fantasy sports had to be a season-long commitment. But some people (either on their own or at the urging of their significant others) did not want to take on that type of time commitment or incur the cost of competing in a full-season league. Enter daily fantasy sports (DFS), which has given sports fans a more efficient outlet to achieve the fantasy adrenaline rush .
Features
The Inevitable Reinvention of the e-Discovery Industry
Electronic discovery professionals should consider a future where their current skills no longer merit the salaries they are accustomed to commanding. The current talents and knowledge bases that allow for professional leverage or vertical mobility in today's e-discovery job market still have, and will always have, immense value to their employers. However, the growing reality is that employers will not need ' or be able ' to compensate the professional population with premiums in salary.
Features
111010001: An Article of Commerce?
In <i>ClearCorrect Operating, LLC v. ITC,</i> the Federal Circuit limited the ITC's jurisdiction over digital commerce. In a 2-1 decision, the panel held that the ITC lacks authority to regulate digital imports.
Features
Infringement In The Cloud
The delivery and discovery of media over the Internet has left the hackers and pirates behind and become part of the licensed distribution chain, just as videotape did. The term "file sharing" is now more likely to describe a multi-billion dollar, cloud-based collaboration platform than a piracy site. And courts are beginning to examine the law of contributory infringement in that complex new context, as U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter did recently in <i>Smith v. BarnesandNoble.com.</i>
Features
Opening the Books
The criminal fraud trial of three former executives of Dewey & LeBoeuf last year cast a spotlight on an arcane, often tedious but essential part of the operations of any big law firm: accounting practices.
Features
Revisiting Allocation of Basis Issues
The courts have taken varying approaches to determining the basis of stock that is received by an insurance policyholder in exchange for the policyholder's surrender of membership rights in a mutual insurance company, in a "demutualization" transaction. While this may seem to be a narrow and abstruse question, the approaches taken by the courts may have application in other areas of the tax law affecting analogous transactions.
Features
Catching Counterfeiters With Page Vault
As the CEO and founder of IPCybercrime, my team and I have developed a systematic approach to investigating the online sale of fake branded goods. We work with law firms and corporate counsel to build cases against the counterfeiters. In the last decade, we've assisted in shutting down hundreds of thousands of websites offering counterfeit goods for sale. In many cases, $100s of millions were at stake.
Features
Preparing for a Data Breach with Cyber Insurance
Data breaches continue to escalate and garner national attention. The most recent news-making incident was the hack of electronic toy maker, VTech.
Features
Ins and Outs of Group Registration Of Photographs
An important part of a professional photographer's life, and that of a photographer's attorney, is protecting the intellectual property produced by that photographer. Many photographers properly compile photographs from unrelated sources and register the photographs in an effort to protect their property rights in the images. Group registration of those images has enabled a much more efficient registration process, but does registration provide the statutory damage protections one might assume should be available?
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.Read More ›
- The Brave New World of Cybersecurity Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Pitfalls and OpportunitiesLike poorly-behaved school children, new technologies and intellectual property (IP) are increasingly disrupting the M&A establishment. Cybersecurity has become the latest disruptive newcomer to the M&A party.Read More ›
- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.Read More ›
- Guidance on Distributions As 'Disbursements' and U.S. Trustee FeesIn a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."Read More ›