LJN Newsletters

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.

Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.

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.

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.

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.

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?

New International Data Protection Coalition Announces Web Site

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.