Features

Lessor Repossession of Property on Eve of Lessee Bankruptcy
Voluntary Turnover or Face Contempt Lessors who repossess property immediately prior to a lessee bankruptcy filing may be required to return such property or face sanctions by the bankruptcy court. Federal courts are currently split on the issue of whether the lessor must voluntary surrender property seized petition or may hold such property until such time as the debtor seeks, and obtains, an order of turnover.
Features

You Know What It Is: Taco Tuesday and the Failure-to-Function Doctrine In Trademark Law
The foundational requirement that a trademark function as a trademark has received little attention in the case law. More recently, however, there has been an apparent uptick in scrutiny of trademark use by the USPTO and TTAB, as well as fresh academic attention paid to the issue.
Features

SEC Proposes Changes to Accredited Investor Definition
Real estate syndication offerings often rely on Rule 506 of Regulation D to exempt such offerings from registration under the Securities Act. Rule 506 requires that, with certain limited exceptions, purchasers of the securities offered are limited to accredited investors. Amendments proposed by the SEC in December modify certain of the existing categories of accredited investors and create certain new categories.
Features

In the Wake of Shields: Broader Implications for Decision on Commercial Landlord Liability
The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently revisited an oft-contested issue in the area of premises liability: whether a commercial landlord owes a duty to its tenant's business invitees to maintain the premises, under a triple net lease, where the tenant is in exclusive possession of the demised premises.
Features

Tips to Minimize Landlord's Exposure When a Commercial Tenant Files Bankruptcy
Landlords often have clues that a tenant is going to be filing for bankruptcy, rental payments are consistently late several months in a row and the tenant falls more than a month behind on the rent. But, it can still be shocking when a landlord receives a legal notice in the mail, instead of a rent check.
Columns & Departments
Development
Lawyer's Signs on Buildings Owned By Corporation Violate Administrative Code
Features

Swedish Music Industry Views as European Union Countries Work on Drafting Home Laws for Enacting EU Copyright Directive
This article is Part One of a two-part article This article examines the Copyright Directive and music-industry structure issues through the lens of Sweden, which has both a robust music business and a strong technology sector, two divergent perspectives in the development of the directive.
Features

Exercising the Extraterritorial Limitation on U.S. Copyright Law
A necessary element of secondary liability claims is an underlying infringement of U.S. copyright law by a third party. If the activities abroad are not subject to the law, the predicate direct infringement required for the imposition of secondary liability cannot be established.
Features

Stockholder Derivative Litigation Update
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently addressed a nearly unprecedented issue: the discovery and privilege implications of a special litigation committee's (SLC) decision to hand over control of a company claim to a stockholder derivative plaintiff who initiated the claim and survived a motion to dismiss.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Northern District of Texas: Even Post-Berkheimer, Patent Claims Continue to be Ineligible for Patenting as a Matter of Law When They Are Not Drawn to Particular Technical Solutions or Advances Described in the Specification Federal Circuit: The PTAB Cannot Institute Inter Partes Review on Obviousness Grounds Not Included in the IPR Petition, But Can Consider Evidence of "General Knowledge" in the Art
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