Litigation

The First Circuit Widens the Controversy

In In re Tempnology, the First Circuit held that the debtor's rejection of a trademark license strips the nondebtor licensee of any right to continue to use the trademarks. In so doing, the court takes the same approach as the Fourth Circuit and rejects the approaches advocated by the Third and Seventh Circuits.

No Tacking of Adverse Possession Claims
Issues of Fact Preclude Injunction Requiring Removal of Encroachments
Statute of Limitations Bars Foreclosure Claim
Permission Bars Prescriptive Easement Claim

At 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.

While the court will not have the opportunity to rule on the merits of the case, the facts relied upon by the Indiana Superior Court and the conclusions reached in rendering its decision are still instructive for practitioners drafting continuous-use provisions and advising clients on potential breaches or anticipatory breaches of such provisions.

The Supreme Court's decision and analysis are instructive for both bankruptcy and corporate practitioners, and will likely yield significant returns for estate beneficiaries.

What powers does the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission have to require a building owner to maintain a mechanical clock located in the interior of a building? In Save America's Clocks, Inc. v. City of New York, New York's Appellate Division, First Department, held that the Commission had power to require maintenance of the clock, and to require public access to it.

Attorneys who sued “Despacito” artist Daddy Yankee for defamation should have heeded the song's title and drafted their settlement offer slowly, a federal appellate court ruled.

Trade secret protection applies only to confidential information. In almost all circumstances, broadcasting to the world the intricate details and applications of a trade secret extinguishes whatever “property right” an entertainment industry holder once possessed. What is a sufficient method of contractually notifying a software user of the trade secret status of certain information is a closer question.