Features

A Clash Between 'Free and Clear' and Tenants' Rights Under Bankruptcy Code Section 365(h)
With the recent carnage in the retail industry, a lot of attention goes to the fate of landlords when their tenants seek bankruptcy protection. A recent case that brings balance is <i>Revel AC Inc. v. IDEA Boardwalk, LLC</i>.
Columns & Departments
Case Notes
Contractual Allocation of Damage Risk Thwarts Insurer's Subrogation Claim<br>Lacking Specifics, Lease Term Is Unenforceable
Features

Ultra Music Festival Disputes Result in Decisions Within Days of Each Other
Only days after winning dismissal of an anti-trust lawsuit over its 2019 move to a new location in Miami, FL, for the Ultra Music Festival, Worldwide Entertainment lost its bid to reopen a court case over use of the "Ultra Music" brand for a festival overseas.
Features

High Court's View of 'Full Costs' in Copyright Litigation
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, led by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, held that the phrase “full costs” in §505 of the Copyright Act means all of the costs specifically enumerated in the general cost-shifting statutes, such as transcripts and fees for court-appointed experts and interpreters.
Features

U.S. Supreme Court's Ruling on Copyright Registration
The Supreme Court had granted cert in <i>Fourth Estate</i> to resolve a split in the federal circuit courts as to whether §411(a) of the Copyright Act could be read to allow commencement of an infringement action once a registration application filed with the Copyright Office is complete (the “application approach”) or, instead, only (subject to limited statutorily specified exceptions) upon issuance by the Copyright Office of the registration (the “registration approach”).
Features

Claim of Non-Purchasing Tenant Status Rebuffed
When developers convert occupied buildings to condominiums or, less frequently, cooperative ownership, non-purchasing tenants are protected from eviction. When tenants in those buildings acquire vested rights as non-purchasing tenants is significant for developers, because the timing dictates the number of units that will be available for sale to outside purchasers. It is, therefore, no surprise that this is a highly charged and contested issue.
Features

The Supreme Court Finally Resolves An Old, Vexing Question: Does "Registration" Mean "Registration"? Answer: "Yes."
In Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split decades in the making by holding that a copyright is not "registered" within the meaning of the Copyright Act unless and until a registration certificate actually has issued.
Features

10 Categories of Provisions to Consider in any Commercial Lease
Part One of a Two-Part Article When entering into a lease for commercial space, there are some items that should not be overlooked. Landlords and tenants alike should make sure that the following things are addressed in the lease, one way or another.
Columns & Departments
Development
Cemetery Entitled to Use Variance<br>ZBA Usurpation of Planning Board Authority<br>Statutory Factors Need to Be Considered In Denial of Area Variance
Features

U.S. Studios Agree to End Geoblocking in Europe Union
Under the agreement, the studios and Sky UK will open up pay-TV markets, allowing consumers across the European Union to access to a wider range of content regardless of their location.
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
- 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 ›