Supreme Court Appears Sympathetic to Wal-Mart in Class Action
The massive class action against retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ran into stiff resistance at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 29, after surviving lower court challenges ever since it was launched 10 years ago. 'It's not clear to me: What is the unlawful policy that Wal-Mart has adopted?' said Justice Anthony Kennedy, who as usual is the likely swing vote in the closely watched business case <i>Wal-Mart v. Dukes</i>.
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News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
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Enjoining Unlicensed Trademark Use By Terminated Franchisees
In a recent presentation to the Maryland State Bar Association's Franchise Law Committee, Stephen Vaughan and David Worthen, shareholders with Gray Plant Mooty, discussed how to obtain an injunction that will prevent unlicensed trademark use by a terminated franchisee, as well as strategies for fending off arguments commonly raised by franchisees when confronted with a motion for an injunction.
Franchise Litigation in China: Are You Ready?
Despite the fact that China has a civil law system that does not use cases as precedents, the cases can be very helpful in interpreting franchise regulations and developing an understanding of Chinese law.
Federal Judge Calls Request for $75 Trillion in Damages in Lime Wire Case 'Absurd'
Does $75 trillion even exist? The 13 record companies that are suing file-sharing company Lime Wire for copyright infringement certainly thought so. When they won a summary judgment ruling last May, they demanded damages that could reach this mind-boggling amount, which is more than five times the national debt. Manhattan federal district court judge Kimba Wood, however, saw things differently. She labeled the record companies' damages request "absurd" and contrary to copyright laws.
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Making Your Case with Social Media In Litigation
Social media has come crashing into the courtroom. And along with this newer form of evidence come questions about how to best collect, preserve and use it.
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Grabbing Customers' Copyrights
What's at issue is control, obviously, and the great lengths to which some will go to maintain, it even as they benefit from the wide-open, free-flowing viral information torrent of the Internet. These copyright acquisitions are not primarily motivated by the desire to exploit the works and make money, but rather by the desire to stop the public circulation of texts and images the new owners do not like.
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