Features
Reining in the Inequitable Conduct Defense
Responding to views from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere about the unintended consequences of the current inequitable conduct doctrine, a divided <i>en banc</i> Federal Circuit decision issued on May 25, 2011 adjusted the standard of the materiality element to make this defense harder to establish.
Real Property Law
A look at recent key rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Yellowstone Injunctions Are Applicable to Residential Leases
In the Second Department, tenants who miss the deadline for the application of Yellowstone injunction are now out of luck ' Article 63 is no longer a viable option.
Obtaining Evidence from Social Networking Sites
If an attorney (or his or her agent) uses trickery to gain access to data that the owner allows only certain people to see, the ethical line will be crossed. Ultimately, if an attorney suspects that private data could be useful to the litigation of a family issue, court intervention should be sought.
Creating a Catalyst For Change
Like many other companies, Rockwell Automation wanted to become more cost-efficient, have the capability to perform benchmarking, make the best staffing decisions and serve our business proactively by providing legal advice that helps lower and manage the company's risks. However, our inability to monitor and report on our outside counsel spending was holding us back from meeting these goals.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- 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 ›
- Lack of Logo Placement At Center of Ruling Over Meat Loaf Album PackagingTo build visibility for its brand, a record label or production company will want its logo included on products containing its master recordings manufactured and distributed by third parties. This will be addressed in the agreement between the label or production company and manufacturer/distributor. The failure to include the logo may raise a host of issues, from the breadth of the logo-placement obligation ' such as whether it includes Internet downloads ' to the proper theory on which to base any damages and just which album-sales figures are subject to evidentiary discovery. A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ' in a long-running dispute between Cleveland International Records and Sony Music Entertainment ' illustrated how these issues may be argued and decided.Read More ›
- Law Firms and the Rise of HospitalityThe law firm office cannot remain unchanged, as if frozen in time set to some date prior to the onset of pandemic, when the terms and meaning have all changed. In fact, the office must now provide benefits or an experience the lawyers and staff cannot get at home.Read More ›
- The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance ProgramsThe parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.Read More ›