Features
Steven A. Davis
&
Jorge Rey
The American Land Title Association (ALTA) recently announced it has expanded the availability of its Best Practices Framework resources to non-members. Title agencies can use the framework to demonstrate compliance to lenders, who need to meet regulatory requirements regarding oversight of their third-party service providers. Law firms that have a title agency and those that are considering adding one in the future should be aware of ALTA Best Practices.
Features
Elizabeth B. Hagan
&
David K. Tellekson
Having been urged to do so by the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit recently expanded liability under 35 U.S.C. '271(a) for direct infringement of a method patent involving more than one actor (divided infringement).
Features
Doug Yarabinetz
When organizations discuss ESI, it almost always revolves around three core groups: legal and/or compliance; records management; and, of course, IT. Despite the fact that they all are responsible for important business functions associated with this data, they are seldom on the same page.
Features
Mike Pagani
When responding to e-discovery events such as audits or potential litigation, the cost of persisting with older, traditional methods for key parts of the process can nearly bankrupt a company. Modern archiving technologies that consolidate and proactively store content in a single "search-ready" repository are now playing a crucial role within next generation 2.0 e-discovery processes.
Features
Stephanie J. Kim
A California Court of Appeal recently affirmed the right of a shopping center owner to limit the First Amendment rights of citizens from being exercised near store entrances.
Features
Amanda Bronstad
The European Commission's (EU) recent decision to file antitrust claims against six major U.S. film studios is an aggressive approach at dismantling how Hollywood does business. Even so, it comes as little surprise to antitrust experts given the regulatory agency's push to unify consumer access to digital products in the European Union.
Features
Craig R. Tractenberg
Encroachment" is a term used in the franchise industry to describe sales and revenues being transferred from one location to another because of their proximity. Litigants sometimes claim the encroachment is so extensive so as to threaten the viability of the existing location. In these instances, claims have been asserted for constructive termination because the existing location is alleged to no longer be viable. More likely, the claim for constructive termination is not viable.
Features
Robert W. Ihne
Outside of bankruptcy, if the rights of a lessor against a lessee in default are to be enforced, there is a very material difference in the rights and obligations of both parties depending upon whether the UCC Article to be applied is Article 2A governing true leases or Article 9 governing secured transactions.
Features
Thomas D. Selz
In a release this summer, the FTC announced it had brought and settled its first case involving crowd-funding. The defendant raised more than $122,000 through Kickstarter to produce a Monopoly-like board game geared toward H.P. Lovecraft fans. According to the FTC's complaint, defendant used the Kickstarter proceeds to pay for personal expenses, including his move to Oregon. The settlement order should serve as a reminder that strong legal remedies at both the state and federal level are available to defrauded contributors.
Features
Robert R. Sachs
<i>Versata Development Group v. SAP America</i> was a closely watched case since it was the first appeal to the Federal Circuit of a Covered Business Methods review by the PTAB under Section 18 of the America Invents Act. This article addresses the court's reasoning regarding the definitions of a covered business method patent, and how that reasoning is at odds with norms of statutory construction, technological innovation, and claim drafting.
