Celebrities often turn to the Lanham Act and state right of publicity laws to protect against exploitation of their name, image or voice in connection with the promotion of products or services. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently considered both Lanham Act and right of publicity claims in an action that pitted a Grammy winning musical artist against a major motion picture studio over the alleged use of the musician's likeness in a movie.
The agreements authors make with companies that publish their books ' and with the production companies that make films based on those books ' have changed significantly over the past several years. Due in part to the kind of films currently being produced and to available new technologies (particularly for books), these changes have introduced conflicting overlaps between the two types of contracts.
One of the thorniest issues in selling a law practice involves the issue of goodwill and how to value it. Goodwill is both an accounting term and a qualitative dimension. Understanding both helps the average lawyer better understand the sale of a law practice.
Recent Cases Raise Red Flags for Franchise Agreement Drafters
Ill. Appellate Court Holds FDD Earnings Claim Disclaimers Defeat Fraud Claim
Noting New York City's Density, Court Enforces, But Limits, Restrictive Covenant
Franchising companies often select arbitration to resolve issues with their franchisees and critical vendors. An arbitral forum allows the parties to discuss and resolve marketing initiatives outside of the prying eyes of the media and competitors. Although some companies welcome the limitations on appeals of arbitration awards as an advantage in reaching finality of business disputes, others find it a reason to avoid arbitration, because the costs of a bad outcome can be high.
Hulk Hogan Denied Temporary Injunction Against Publication of Sex Tape
Publisher's Copyright Registration Permits Songwriter's Estate to Pursue Infringement Claim
'Vampyres' Book Didn't Defame Plaintiff with Same Name as Fictional Character
Federal Circuit Takes Hard Look at a More Permissive Standard for Fee-shifting
Federal Circuit Confirms that Prosecution History Estoppel Applies to Design Patents
FDCA Does Not Preempt State Unfair Competition Claims
Amidst a workforce characterized by rapidly changing demographics, employers and employees are faced with many challenges, including providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination.
Data analytics, the same data mining and interpretive analysis used for decades in other professions, is bringing change to the core business side of the legal profession ' and in the process, revealing great potential for increased efficiency, cost-savings and new ways of managing risk.
When the United States passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 1977, it made a long-term investment, arguably at the cost of near-term competitiveness, in the ability of the U.S. economy to raise corporate and ethical best practices globally. With a number of reforms now underway in Brazil, Russia, India and China (the high-growth, high-risk BRIC countries), it appears the investment is paying dividends.
