Features
Ex-Parte Interviews
Continuing last month's discussion of the appellate decisions in two cases concerned with the propriety of <i>ex-parte</i> physician interviews in the context of medical malpractice litigations.
Features
Right of Publicity Roundup
CHOICE OF DOMICILE<br>SINGLE PUBLICATION RULE<br>TRANSFORMATIVE USE DEFENSE
Features
Tactics for Seizing Rogue Web Sites
In cyberspace, the activities of ostensible rogue Web sites ' many attacking U.S. commercial interests or preying on our citizens in a variety of endeavors ' include copyright infringement, illegal gambling and pornography, to name a few. Web site domain seizures may be the 21st-century digital equivalent of 20th-Century gang busting police raids on the haunts of criminal organizations. In place of the remnants of destroyed contraband, a subsequent visitor to these targeted Web sites may instead confront a message left by court order, declaring that the site has been "taken down" for certain illegal activities.
Features
Consideration of Potential Conflicts in <i>U.S. v. Clemens</i>
Snow is melting, seed catalogs are arriving, and eyes have turned to Spring Training. Some baseball fans are also turning their attention to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to follow the recent developments in <i>U.S. v. Clemens.</i> The indictment charges player Clemens with six counts: three counts of making false statements to Congress, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of Congress.
Features
<b>Practice Notes: </b>Reality TV Shows Give Lawyers New Client Base
The rise of reality TV may have hurt the market for writers and actors, but it has provided an additional income stream for a select group of entertainment attorneys. One reason: union rules governing wages, breaks and time worked don't apply to reality shows. As a result, media companies can hire people who are happy, at least initially, to be on TV for little pay.
Features
<b><i>Persona Rights on Trial</b></i> Inside the Nevada Litigation by Bob Marley's Heirs Against the Unauthorized Use of Marley's Image
Celebrities have often used claims of unfair competition by false association or false endorsement under '43(a) of the federal Lanham Act as a basis for recourse against the unauthorized use of aspects of their identities and personas. The potency of a celebrity association claim was recently reinforced in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
Features
The Trials and Tribulations of Locating Expert Witness Talent
A case lost, repealed or rejected because of experts is far more common than it should be, and is often caused by attorneys hiring inappropriate or underqualified experts to testify for e-commerce and other types of enterprises, or by hiring no experts.
Features
Copyright Claims to Images Posted on Twitter
If you are a technology or intellectual property lawyer and the phrase "social network" does not send chills up your spine, you aren't paying attention. The fundamental currency among users of social networking services is shared information; the greater the perceived value of the information, the higher the status of the user. Thus, social networks are an intellectual property minefield.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile 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.Read More ›