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IP News
Federal Circuit Affirms Anticipation of Claims <br>Federal Circuit: No Jurisdiction Over Appeal By Interested Third-Party Attorneys When Underlying Case Had Settled<br>In IPR Appeal, Federal Circuit Reverses PTAB Determination of Nonobviousness
Features
'Ambiguous' Franchise Agreement Sinks Franchisor
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a judgment entered in favor of a group of franchisees who sued for breach of contract when the franchisor charged them royalties and fees that the parties negotiated specifically to exclude from their franchise agreements.
Features
Controversy from Talent Lawyer's Article on JAMS
Arbitration provider JAMS is staying neutral, sort of, on an entertainment litigator's claim that it favors big studios in arbitrations and mediations. The claim, made by Bird Marella partner Ronald Nessim in a law review this summer, is essentially that JAMS has a lock on studio business, with the overwhelming majority of studio contracts reviewed by Nessim naming JAMS as the dispute resolution provider.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
DJ Logic" Loses Trademark Suit<br>Second Circuit Affirms Jury Instruction That Cited Only Part of Copyright Act's List of Fair Use Factors<br>Ticket Sales of Just $180 Don't Bar Statutory Damages of $7,000 Per Song Infringed
Features
Social Media Discovery
Because 'information that an individual shares through social networking websites like Facebook may be copied and disseminated by another,' the expectation that such information is private, in the traditional sense of the word, is not a reasonable one.
Features
Players' War Against Online Games They Use
The world of free online video games is a big business, including for some law firms. The games derive much of their revenue from a tiny sliver of users who pay real-world money for virtual currency to hasten their advancement or refill their pretend coffers. Plaintiffs in the string of suits claim that the games run afoul of various states' laws by running thinly veiled gambling enterprises.
Features
Student Athletes And Compensation For Likeness
In the last few years, every college football fan became familiar with "Johnny Football," "The Honey Badger," and "Famous Jameis." These recognizable names are not only associated with Heisman-quality talent, but also with the new world of student athlete trademark registrations.
Features
Apportionment of Lost Profits Damages Appears To Be Making a Comeback
The issue of damages remains a hot topic at the Federal Circuit, with patentees being continuously reminded that damages must be apportioned to account for the value of patented features, as opposed to unpatented features, of an accused product. However, the vast majority of these cases involve apportionment in the context of reasonable royalties. Very little has been said about apportionment in a lost profits analysis.
Features
Worker Injury in the 'Internet Workplace'
Billions of people use the Internet for work-related purposes. According to the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, the fastest growing demographic for Internet workers is people aged 45 to 54. This is the same age group that is most likely to engage in workplace injury litigation.
Features
Federal Civil Trade Secret Legislation
Businesses regularly lose precious data, sometimes even "the crown jewels," through trade secret theft by departing employees, unscrupulous contractors and others. Although trade secret theft is estimated to cause billions of dollars in damage every year, no federal civil claim for trade secret misappropriation currently exists. State laws govern these assets, and they are inconsistently applied. Relief may be in sight.
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