Litigation

Recently, there has been a spate of Ninth Circuit rulings on the first sale doctrine ' all of which have implications for the entertainment industry.

The Second Circuit summarily affirmed a bankruptcy court's designation of a secured lender's vote on a reorganization plan in a two-page order, effectively enabling the debtor to cram down the lender's claim.

The DOJ has brought cases against companies and individuals in relation to their dealings with state-owned enterprises based on a broad reading of the term "instrumentality," a term not otherwise defined in the statute prohibiting corrupt payments to "foreign officials.

In almost every respect, e-discovery falls squarely in the domain of attorneys ' inside counsel, outside counsel and experts. Essentially, it is the business process for litigation, regulatory matters and internal investigations. So why is IT involved in almost every situation? The answer is quite simple: because IT must be involved.

In Tiffany v. eBay, the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court's ruling in favor of eBay on the key issue of contributory trademark infringement, as well as direct infringement and dilution, but remanded on the issue of false advertising. The upshot of the holding is that despite a general knowledge that a significant percentage of Tiffany goods sold on eBay were counterfeit, eBay did not have a duty to prevent any such sales unless and until a specific instance of fraud was brought to its attention.

RIGHT OF PUBLICITY/EXPERT WITNESSES

Recent rulings of importance.

News from neighboring states.