Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Features
Contractually Amendable Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits
In a controversial decision, the Third Circuit has ruled that a debtor must comply with the stringent procedural and substantive requirements of 11 U.S.C. ' 1114 to terminate retiree health and welfare benefits that the debtor contractually retained the right to modify at will.
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Features
<b><i>Looking Forward, Looking Back:</b></i> Supreme Court's <i>Rear Window</i> Ruling 20 Years Later
2010 is the 20th anniversary of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that dealt with the copyright renewal-rights dilemma. The case centered on whether actor James Stewart and director Alfred Hitchcock could continue to exploit their classic-thriller movie Rear Window, which was based on the short story "It Had to Be Murder" by Cornell Woolrich.
Expert Testimony and the Changes to FRCP Rule 26
New federal rules will bring good sense to discovery with respect to expert witnesses. They also serve to emphasize the need to properly organize and preserve Electronically Stored Information using e-discovery experts before and during litigation or arbitration.
Features
League Impact on the Sports Team Bankruptcy Process
As more beleaguered team owners seek refuge in bankruptcy proceedings, the resulting clash of league interests with fundamental principles of bankruptcy law will result in the development of novel legal and practical solutions for financially distressed sports franchises.
Mandatory Arbitration of GM and Chrysler Dealer Terminations
In 2009, Chrysler and General Motors declared bankruptcy and terminated almost 2,000 of their dealers as part of overall restructuring. The dealers turned to Congress for relief. Congress responded by passing a bill, signed into law on Dec. 16, 2009, providing for mandatory arbitration for dealers seeking reinstatement. Did it work?
Features
e-Commerce News
New International Data Protection Coalition Announces Web Site
Features
Abusive Internet Social Networking Yields Infringement
As with domain names, social networking user names are often an extension of a person's or an organization's identity. Businesses, for example, use social networking identities to promote themselves as a source of goods and services. And the flip side of that coin is that abusive use of social networking user names allows a third party to benefit from the goodwill by-product endorsement. But here's the problem: Such abusive behavior constitutes intellectual property infringement.
Features
Pay Attention, Counsel!
As students returned to school recently, many may have been looking ahead to their next day off. And today, there are so many online schools that e-commerce executives are turning the chorus of Alice Cooper's classic 1972 schoolboy anthem "School's Out" ' "School's out forever" ' into reality by turning school into another form of e-commerce.
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
- Major Labels File Lawsuits Over AI Companies' Alleged Copying of 'World's Most Popular' RecordingsMajor record labels including Capitol Records and Sony Music Entertainment sued two music-focused generative artificial intelligence companies, accusing them of "willful copyright infringement on an almost unimaginable scale."Read More ›
- Leveraging the Patent Professional for New Venture DevelopmentBusiness-focused patent protection fundamentally improves the ability of a given product or process to attract a market. It is important for patent professionals to structure regular interactions with business leaders to both impact early business decisions, as well as gain alignment to an individual industry's dynamics. While there can be no fundamental template applicable to all technologies and all business needs, this article is intended to be a guide for efficient integration.Read More ›
- Removing Restrictive Covenants In New YorkIn Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?Read More ›
- When Is a Repair Structural or Nonstructural Under a Commercial Lease?A common question that commercial landlords and tenants face is which of them is responsible for a repair to the subject premises. These disputes often center on whether the repair is "structural" or "nonstructural."Read More ›
- Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About ItWhy is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?Read More ›