The Pennsylvania Superior Court has restored the $28 million in punitive damages a Philadelphia jury awarded to an Illinois plaintiff who said drugmakers Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. failed to warn her doctor of the risks of breast cancer from using hormonal drugs. The trial judge had reduced the punitive damages award to $1 million.
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
If the Federal Circuit affirms a lower court verdict holding a patent not invalid over a prior art reference, may the losing party ask the Patent Office to invalidate that patent via re-examination over the same prior art reference? In the case of In re Construction Equipment, the Federal Circuit answered yes, raising important issues bearing on the scope of the re-examination statute, the finality of judgments, and the relationship between the Patent Office and the federal judiciary under the separation of powers doctrine of the Constitution.
As explained in the introduction last month, this article explores the role of addiction in product liability litigation. Part Two herein explains the medical model of addiction, and addiction in the courtroom.
With the explosion of the Internet in the last several decades, courts have struggled with whether tortious conduct on a website is expressly aimed at any, or all, of the forums in which the website can be viewed. Two recent Ninth Circuit cases expanded the reach of Internet jurisdiction and may carry significant implications.
On Jan. 18, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-to-2 decision in Golan v. Holder, ruling that the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 — which restores U.S. copyright protection for certain foreign works formerly in the public domain — fits within Congress' constitutional authority to "adjust copyright law to protect categories of works once outside the law's compass." Golan, like Eldred v. Ashcroft before it, solidifies the constitutional authority of Congress under the Copyright Clause to control the terms and duration of U.S. copyright protection.
Law firms spent the better part of two decades effectively extricating themselves from unaffordable, life-threatening unfunded retirement packages only to find they have few if any financial mechanisms available to incent retiring partners to actually transition their clients to the next generation, prior to retirement.
If a protected worker can show that an employer used a specific employment policy or practice within the decision-making process, which resulted in members of a protected class being less successful than unprotected workers (i.e.>/i>, "adversely impacted"), the employer may be liable for discrimination.
Similar to financial investments you will want a well-diversified portfolio of mentors who can contribute to your career in different ways depending on your goals.
In this article, the elements of a disparate impact claim by older workers are explored. Congress created protection for older workers from employment discrimination by enacting the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
