Features

When Do COVID-19 Shutdown Orders Excuse Lease Guarantors?
Section 22-1005 of the New York City Administrative Code provides relief for individuals who guaranteed commercial leases when the tenant defaulted as a result of government orders issued during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, however, litigation has emerged about the scope of that relief.
Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant Law
Questions of Fact Remain About Whether Landlord Had Released Corporate Tenant from Liability Yellowstone Injunction Does Not Require Proof of Likelihood of Success Guaranty Expired With Tenant's Initial Lease Term Illegal Use Does Not Preclude Rent Stabilization Status Guarantor Immunity Does Not Apply to Pre-COVID Breaches Class Certification Appropriate for Claim of Improper Deregulation
Columns & Departments
Co-ops and Condominiums
Statements By Condo Board Members Cloaked In Common Interest Privilege Shareholder Entitled to Maintenance Abatement for Breach of Warranty of Habitability
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Deference to Trial Court's Determination on Mortgage Priority No Broker Commission for Sale After Expiration of Tail Period Co-Owner Who Did Not Execute Mortgage Not Subject to Equitable Lien By Mortgagee Insufficient Evidence of Delay to Support Laches Defense Against Claim to Set Aside Deed As a Forgery Statements Did Not Defeat Hostility In Adverse Possession Claim
Features

UPDATE: Did the Supreme Court's 'Arthrex' Decision Open Pandora's Box?
In June 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Arthrex that the statutory scheme appointing Patent Trial and Appeal Board administrative patent judges to adjudicate IPRs violates the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the Court concluded that because APJ decisions in IPR proceedings are not reviewable by a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed officer, such determinations are not compatible with the powers of inferior officers. The PTO later decided that it would not accept requests for director review of institution decisions. This policy is now also being questioned in Arthrex's wake.
Features

Proper Notice of Trademark Rights: Using Trademark Symbols for Three-Dimensional Packaging and Product Designs
Among the most common questions trademark attorneys are asked is what the differences are between the symbols ®, TM, and SM. When should such symbols should be used? Where should they appear? How frequently? Do they even need to be used at all?
Features

What's Happening With Productions Tax Credit In GA?
In recent years, the Peach State has become one of the most popular spots for film companies. However, the state General Assembly's action with regarding one bill and inaction with regard to another have threatened to harm the entertainment industry.
Features

State Law Requiring Offer to License Conflicts With Copyright Act
A federal judge has sided with the Association of American Publishers (AAP), finding in June that a recently enacted Maryland library e-book law conflicts with federal copyright laws.
Features

2d Cir. Arguments In Judge Moore's Defamation Case Against Baron Cohen
Attorneys for former Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore and the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in June, with Moore's attorney Larry Klayman urging the three-judge panel to reverse the district court ruling dismissing a lawsuit Moore filed.
Columns & Departments
Fresh Filings
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
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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 ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
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- 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 ›