Features
Unusual Challenges to Content in Film, TV Productions
Two recent court rulings ' one involving the movie <i>The Hangover: Part II</i> and the other the TV series <i>South Park</i> ' considered unusual issues in challenged uses of content in entertainment productions.
Features
Retired Players' Antitrust Claim Against NFL Is Dismissed
A federal judge dismissed an antitrust action brought on behalf of retired professional football players who accused the National Football League of monopolizing the market for DVDs, videos and films featuring the plaintiffs' names and likenesses.
Features
'Dora' Litigator Gets Contingency Fees, but Less of Client's Future Earnings
In 2007, the television network Nickelodeon handpicked Caitlin Sanchez, then 12-years-old, to voice the wildly popular cartoon character "Dora the Explorer." But Sanchez's stint playing a cheery preschooler wound up introducing her into a very adult world of litigation.
Features
DMX Can Obtain Its Music Through Direct Licenses
After performing-rights organizations ASCAP and BMI lost royalty rate challenges against background music provider DMX Inc. in 2010, they turned to a pair of former U.S. solicitors general to handle their appeals. But all that appellate firepower wasn't enough to turn their fortunes around.
Features
<b><i>BREAKING NEWS:</b></i> Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law
In a stunning victory for the Obama administration, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 upheld the centerpiece of the nation's new health care law ' the so-called individual mandate to buy insurance ' as a constitutional exercise of Congress' taxing authority.
Features
Crayon Shinchan
The naughty five-year-old Japanese comic-book character Crayon Shinchan would tell foreign trademark owners that although foreign trademarks ultimately receive legal protection in China, pragmatic owners must be mindful of the time and costs involved.
Features
An Analysis of Kappos v. Hyatt
Although the Supreme Court's decision in <i>Kappos v. Hyatt</i> addressed the Patent Act specifically, the decision may have implications for cases brought in district courts to challenge decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The <i>Kappos</i> decision may also encourage defendants to continue pushing against the "clear and convincing evidence" standard for obviousness challenges based on prior art not considered by the PTO during examination.
Features
Invoking the Spousal Privilege
There are two aspects to the law in New York ' one prohibiting prosecutors or others from compelling one spouse to testify against the other, and the other permitting a spouse to preclude the testimony even of a willing witness spouse. It is this second potion of the law that we will be concerned with.
Features
Hedge Fund Valuation in Connection with Equitable Distribution
Hedge fund valuation presents several challenges in the field of business valuation for the purposes of equitable distribution.
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