Features

Fifth Circuit Resolves 'Clash' Between FERC and Bankruptcy Courts
A Chapter 11 debtor's "rejection [(under Code §365(a)] of a filed-rate [natural gas] contract … relieve[d] it of the obligation to continue performance absent the approval of FERC [(the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]," held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Features

PA Ruling Shows Power of Obtaining Mechanic's Lien
In Pennsylvania, if a contractor is not paid for repairs or improvements made to real estate, the contractor can either take the traditional path of litigation and sue the property owner by filing a complaint under contractual or equitable theories or file for a mechanics' lien that clouds title to the real estate.
Features

Supreme Court's Breyer Ruling on Mistakes In Copyright Registrations
The Ninth Circuit had ruled in 2020 that §411(b)(1)(A) of the federal Copyright Act excuses inadvertent mistakes of fact on copyright registrations but not mistakes of law. The Supreme Court has now ruled 6-3 that the provision covers both mistakes of facts and law.
Features

Is the Use of Third-Party Releases In Bankruptcy Cases Stretched Too Thin?
Third-party releases are often incorporated into the bankruptcy plan as a means of protecting nondebtor parties from litigation that is directly or even tangentially related to the debtor's business. Over the last several years, the scope and use of such third-party releases appears to have been stretched arguably to the breaking point as demonstrated in a recent and important district court decision.
Features

Comic Legends' Estates Say Pandora Streamed Routines Without License
In dual lawsuits, the estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin accuse Pandora Media of willfully infringing the legendary comedians' registered copyrights in their "spoken word compositions" — their standup routines — by streaming the sound recordings that embody those routines without a license to use these works.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Both Sides' Summary Judgment Motions Denied in Copyright Infringement Suit Over Jimi Hendrix Photo Summary Judgment Granted for Defendant in Copyright Infringement Suit Over "Gimme Some Lovin'"
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit: District Court Abused Discretion By Attributing Inconsistent Position to Plaintiff
Features

The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity Litigation
While the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.
Features

Second Circuit Reverses Course and Denies Article III Standing for Statutory Damage Claims Arising Out of Untimely Recording of Mortgage Discharges
Maddox v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon Trust certainly affords safeguards to lenders and mortgagees in that Maddox now narrows a borrower's ability to pursue class damages in federal court for lenders and services for failure to timely record mortgage satisfactions.
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