Data breaches such as the one Yahoo recently revealed (500 million accounts!) get the big headlines. In response, large companies double down on their efforts to protect the security of their data. But small to midsize businesses often fail to appreciate the risk of a data breach to their own business.
As important as software and business method inventions are in the new digital economy, it is often unclear whether they can be patented. This uncertainty is largely due to a legal rule that “abstract ideas” are not eligible for patent protection, which is based on a long line of U.S. Supreme Court cases, with Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank being the most recent and influential.
Compensation provisions in entertainment contracts are in one or two subparagraphs. To simplify drafting and to use “plain English,” the compensation provisions often contain introductory, governing language along the lines of: “In full and complete consideration for entering into and performing all of the terms hereof.” However, is such a “plain English” approach always a “best practice”?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided that an agreement between a book author and a publisher allowed a customer of distributor Barnes & Noble to retain a sample of the book in the “digital locker” the distributor provided to the customer.
When, as is often the case, actual copyright damages are difficult to prove, statutory damages may provide the best option for recovery. Recently, in Friedman v. Live Nation Merchandise, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered, among other things, two issues greatly affecting the amount of statutory copyright damages: 1) willfulness; and 2) the number of separate awards available for downstream infringements.
Both before and after the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) in May 2016, which created a federal civil cause of action for trade secrets misappropriation, much ink was spilled over the controversial “seizure” provision.
One of the rare legal issues in which bankruptcy practitioners usually are able to speak to clients in absolute terms to provide clear legal advice is the limitations period concerning the pursuit of avoidable transfers in bankruptcy proceedings.
Growth in solar-generation capacity has not been evenly distributed across the country, however, as some states' policies and laws are solar-friendly, while those in other states pose barriers. One such barrier in many states is the lack of access to financing.
Part One of a Two-Part Article
A photo agency that sued the owner of online tabloid Oh No They Didn't! for copyright infringement is hoping to reverse a ruling that threw out its case, prompting Pinterest and others to weigh in and argue that reviving the case could erode legal protections afforded to Internet service providers.
The automatic stay of 11 U.S.C. § 362 is one of the most important principles of bankruptcy law. It provides crucial breathing space for the debtor to reorganize or liquidate, and avoids the piecemeal dismemberment of the estate's assets. However, in rare instances, courts have extended stay protection to non-debtors through 11 USC § 105. This is considered extraordinary relief reserved for unusual circumstances, and may be analogized to the inherent power of federal courts under their general equity powers.
