LJN Newsletters

Recently, two New York federal district courts reached conflicting decisions in the Coudert Brothers LLP and Thelen LLP bankruptcy cases with respect to a law firm's purported ownership interest in future profits from its former clients' matters pending on the date of the law firm's dissolution, or "unfinished business.

The firestorm of publicity regarding clients pushing back and refusing to pay for certain fees, and especially soft costs, begs the question: Is the traditional cost recovery model dying or perhaps already dead? The answer is no.

This article describes 14 approaches to enhancing profitability other than working more hours and charging higher hourly rates.

Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.

Overly aggressive enforcement of trademark rights by high-profile brand owners can lead to consumer backlash when such enforcement is perceived as "trademark bullying" of the "little guy." Such enforcement efforts have grown increasingly hazardous during the era of Internet blogging and social networking.

The Seventh Circuit has now adopted the conflicting view that ' 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code does not affect trademark licenses in one way or another and that Lubrizol Enterprises, Inc. v. Richmond Metal Finishers, Inc. was incorrectly decided.

In a closely followed case involving the patentability of DNA sequences of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which account for most forms of inherited breast and ovarian cancer, the Federal Circuit largely followed its prior 2011 ruling and again held that isolated DNA sequences are patent-eligible subject matter.

Google Inc. has given up the fight in a closely-watched case accusing the company of infringing trademarks and facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods.