Commercial Law

In the March 2014 issue, in their article titled 'Blurred Lines,' the authors discussed a number of decisions from various jurisdictions concerning the applicability of the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine in the context of an insurer's claims investigation. Among those decisions was National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. TransCanada Energy USA, Inc.

Today's book publishing agreements typically include a grant of e-book rights from an author to a publisher. But contracts from the pre-e-book era have been contested as to whether the older agreements give the author or the publisher the e-book rights in the author's works. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has decided that the phrase "now known or hereafter invented" granted the e-book rights to the publisher.

One of the challenges commonly facing franchise lawyers is that there are several definitions of the term "franchise." Regardless of whether the parties intend to establish a franchise relationship, if the relationship legally is deemed a "franchise," certain federal and state laws may apply. However, the definition of "franchise" often varies from statute to statute, and it may be difficult to determine whether a particular statute applies.

Franchisors have historically struggled with whether to include provisions calling for mandatory arbitration of all franchise disputes in their franchise agreements. One of the main complaints about arbitration from franchisors and franchisees alike ' and a reason many franchisors opt not to include arbitration provisions in their franchise agreements ' has been the lack of an effective appeal process.

Moore's Law revealed the fundamental question we all ask when faced with a new technology: should I purchase that device? The fact is, we don't know. The period of exponential improvement which we are all now familiar with has shown time and again that there will be some breakthrough in technology over the next several months that delivers a product to me that is better, cheaper and faster.

Corporate counsel may be surprised to learn that, under certain circumstances, plaintiffs in shareholder litigation have gained access to privileged materials upon a showing of "good cause" under the fiduciary exception. This article discusses the basis for the fiduciary exception, the factors involved in the good-cause analysis, and the circumstances under which courts have turned over privileged materials to plaintiffs.

ICM Partners Escapes Personal Jurisdiction in Film Suit in Washington State
In Suit Against Sony Music, Toto Is Denied Access To Apple/UMG Agreements
Rulings in Advance of Beastie Boys' Trial Against Monster Energy

On Dec. 16, 2013, the FTC announced consent decrees settling charges that two professional associations, the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the California Association of Legal Support Professionals (CALSPro), had violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by using their respective codes of ethics to restrain competition among association members.