Features
<b>BREAKING NEWS:</b> CA Marriage Ruling Makes History
On a blast-furnace of a day when normally chilly San Francisco hit 96 degrees, the California Supreme Court enhanced its reputation as a trail-blazing institution on May 15 by giving gays and lesbians the right to marry. 'The California Constitution,' Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the 4-3 ruling, 'properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.'
Features
<B>BREAKING NEWS</b> 11th Circuit OKs Suit Based on Sexual Language in Office
In a rare win for a plaintiff alleging employment discrimination, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a woman can bring a harassment claim for language not referring specifically to her.
Features
Insurer Claim Files: Privilege and Work-Product Protection
This article surveys some of the ways that courts have approached the issues of privilege and work product protection for insurer claim files.
Features
<b>Decision of Note:</b> 'Video' License Encompassed Mobile Delivery
The Appellate Court of Illinois decided that a license to use the trademark 'March Madness' 'to advertise, promote, and sell publications, videos, and media broadcasts' included the right to deliver on-demand video content to mobile wireless devices.
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Bit Parts
Artist Consultant/Unfair-Competition Claim<br>Insurance/Intra-Band Litigation<br>Royalty Complaint/Ringtone and Download Licenses<br>TV-Affiliation Agreements/Promotional Payments
Features
Cameo Clips
CHARACTER RIGHTS/COPYRIGHT TERMINATION<br>FILM PRODUCTION/COPYRIGHT CLAIMS<br>FILM PRODUCTION/RIGHT-OF-PUBLICITY<br>RIGHTS IN BAND NAMES/TRADEMARK CLAIMS
Features
L.A. Litigator James Curry Joins Sheppard Mullin
A founding partner of one of L.A.'s few remaining litigation boutiques has jumped to Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton's Century City office. Entertainment litigator James Curry took his name off the door of White O'Connor Curry, a Century City firm that spun off of what is now Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro in an acrimonious split more than a decade ago.
Features
Hollywood Ties to Anti-Piracy Push Across India
A robust local film industry has kept American films on the margins in India. Foreign films account for only 3% of the market in India, compared to European countries, where American movies account for between 70% and 95% of films shown. So if the United States wants to make a point about film piracy in India, it needs to show Indians that piracy hits the market for their own films, not just those of foreign companies.
Features
Case on DAs' Movie Input, Book Is at CA High Court
When their 15 minutes of fame came, two Santa Barbara County prosecutors didn't shy away ' one authored a book based loosely on a rape case she was handling and the other consulted on a movie about an alleged killer he was trying to bring to justice. But their foray into the entertainment world went awry in October 2006 when a state appellate panel threw both prosecutors off their cases. Joyce Dudley's novel, 'Intoxicating Agent,' hewed far too close to her real-world rape case, the court held, while Ronald Zonen shouldn't have allowed producers of the movie 'Alpha Dog' access to highly sensitive files in his sensational death-penalty case. As a result, the court ruled, keeping the prosecutors on the cases would deny both criminal defendants a fair trial.
Features
Evaluating e-Discovery Solutions to Reduce Cost and Risk, and Comply with the FRCP
More than 40 sanctions cases ' resulting in millions of dollars in fines ' have been decided in one year since revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ('FRCP') took effect. In contrast, only two have been recorded under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act since it was put into place in 2002. The 2006 changes to the FRCP specifically require that companies ensure all potentially relevant electronically stored information ('ESI') associated with litigation is preserved and protected, with a subset ultimately produced when required. While on the surface this may sound simple, those in the trenches on both sides ' legal and IT ' have war stories to tell of hard lessons learned. Organizations that do not take a comprehensive approach to managing ESI for discovery may fall prey to fines, sanctions and worse.
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