Features
Financing Accessions: A Real-World Analysis in Question and Answer Format
As many lenders and lessors have discovered, financing a unit that will be attached to equipment financed by another lender can be more challenging than it appears. Especially if the other item is a titled motor vehicle.
Features
Suit Against Bieber Next 'Blurred Lines' Case?
Pop star Justin Bieber should face the music ' or, more specifically, a jury ' on claims that his hit song "Somebody to Love" infringed on copyrighted material. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has revived the case, more than a year after Bieber's lawyers got the suit dismissed.
Columns & Departments
Cameo Clips
Law Firm's Suit Against Popovich Estate Is Dismissed<br>Dispute over Song Contest Must Go to Arbitration
Columns & Departments
Court Watch
GA Supreme Court Upholds Integration and Disclaimer Clauses to Prevent Fraud Claims <br>CT McDonald's Franchise Hit with LGBT Suit<br>Update on Twin Peaks
Features
Digital Ubiquity and the Fourth Amendment
Pick up pretty much any 21st century smart phone, tablet or PC, and in minutes, a treasure trove of information about its owner can be uncovered. Missives to a significant other, photos from summer vacation, browsing history that spans years; all of this information, generally considered of the most intimate nature, is easily accessible with even a rudimentary technical knowledge of the device's operating system. Needless to say, unwanted disclosure of such information can be highly damaging.
Features
No Direct Infringement Unless A 'Single Entity' Performs Each and Every Method Step
In <i>Akamai Technologies,</i> the Federal Circuit ruled that there is no direct infringement unless a "single entity" performs each and every step of the claimed method. Therefore, it found no direct infringement because Limelight and its customers were not part of a single entity and the customers were performing the missing step for their own benefit, not Limelight's.
Features
Apple's iPhone User Interface Held Functional for Trade Dress Infringement, But Not Design Patent Purposes
In the long-running <i>Apple v. Samsung</i> dispute, the Federal Circuit has highlighted a marked difference between the effectiveness of trade dress and design patents in protecting the visual characteristics of a product, which could potentially cost Apple hundreds of millions of dollars in lost damages.
Features
Derivative Cyber Litigation
Potential liability for data breaches has emerged as a major concern for businesses in the past few years as massive cyber-attacks are increasing, with companies that use or store private customer data electronically or use social media as part of their marketing strategy being the prime targets. These data breaches have contributed to an increase in director and officer (D&O) litigation in connection with cyber incidents, and will continue to do so.
Features
Ex-Dewey Partners Asked to Forgo Half of Salary; Backdate Checks
Jurors at the criminal trial of three former Dewey & LeBoeuf executives facing fraud and conspiracy charges heard vivid descriptions of some of the drama that precipitated the firm's bankruptcy filing in May 2012 from former litigation partner Ralph Ferrara, whose testimony continued late last month.
Features
Brokerage Windows in Retirement Plans
The request for information (RFI) regarding the use of so-called "brokerage windows" is one of the more recent developments surrounding what has become an increasingly controversial topic regarding the investment of Section 401(k) plans and other participant-direct retirement plans.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›