Market Potential for Franchising in Africa
Several African countries are demonstrating that they have the market size, growth, opportunities, and developing laws to support franchise development that would be attractive to forward-thinking, established franchisors and entrepreneurs looking for new investments.
Features
Franchise Leaders Reflect on Period of Rapid Change
Disruptive technologies, new expectations from franchisees, tight profit margins, and limited access to capital for growth are among the issues challenging franchisors these days. Franchise attorneys must position themselves to help franchisors overcome those issues, or they will be marginalized as business leaders move forward, observed panelists at the International Franchise Association's 44th Annual Legal Symposium, held in May in Washington, DC.
SharePoint and Discovery Collide
Imagine if that same lawyer and IT professional could turn back time to the late 90s and come up with a solid policy to govern how e-mail was created, stored and disposed of that not only satisfied the legal requirements, but was also enforceable from an IT perspective. That is where we are right now with SharePoint. Have we learned a lesson?
Minimizing Client and Internal Pushback on Soft-Cost Recovery
The recovery of costs directly attributable to a client over and above the fees being charged is a common practice in the legal industry. The justification behind the practice was that clients' generated expenses were above and beyond overhead expenses and were directly attributable to the individual, as they were not included in the hourly rate charged by the firm.
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Features
A Turning Point?
Since its decision in <i>BMC Resources, Inc. v. Paymentech, L.P.</i>, the Federal Circuit has continued to raise the bar for direct infringement of a method claim where the claimed steps are performed by different entities.
Prometheus and Patentable Subject Matter Under 35 U.S.C. ' 101
The recent protracted dispute between Prometheus Laboratories and Mayo Collaborative Services has shed some light on the post-<i>Bilski</i> threshold for patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Customs and Border Protection Trademark Letter Rulings: A Valuable and Underused Tool?
Customs and Border Protection service ("CPB"), part of the Department of Homeland Security, offers interested parties the right to request letter rulings ' advisory opinions about contemplated imports.
Features
Tax Issues in Employment Mediations
There is surely nothing wrong with preparing a term sheet instead of a formal agreement at the end of mediation. However, it can be a huge mistake to ignore tax issues.
Features
Attorney-Client Privilege and Cross-Border Investigations
How do U.S. courts resolve the conflicts between U.S. discovery and overseas laws, and in particular the application of the privilege?
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
- 'Customary Operations' or A Vacant Building?Many times, courts are faced with the question of whether a loss location is 'vacant' under a commercial property policy when trying to determine if the building owner or lessee is conducting customary operations. This article explores various decisions across the United States as to what is considered 'customary operations,' thereby rendering the property 'vacant.'Read More ›
- Reining in the Inequitable Conduct DefenseResponding 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.Read More ›
- Mixed Ruling in Jefferson Starship Band Name SuitWhat's in a rock band's name? Plenty, if you are talking about Jefferson Starship, which goes back more than 40 years, has had more than 30 members and was born from the 1960s psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.Read More ›
- Authorship and Copyright In Hybrid AI-Human Collaborative WorksThe United States Copyright Office recently issued a letter ruling on the copyrightability of Kristina Kashtanova's comic book-like work, Zarya of the Dawn. The Kashtanova ruling indicates that the Copyright Office's determination of copyrightability of works involving use of AI will rely on whether the author is able to control and foresee with some measure of predictability the output of the authorial processRead More ›
- Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTsA federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.Read More ›