FL Jury Finds Domestic Distributor of Chinese Drywall Negligent
On June 18, a Florida jury awarded $2.46 million to a Miami couple who claimed their house was ruined by gas emitted by imported Chinese drywall in the nation's first trial against a domestic distributor.
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Features
The Toyota Recall Crisis: More Than a Re-TREAD
If this were an article about Toyota's actions and inactions, it could stop here. But it is really about the proposed "Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010." This legislation, engendered by the Toyota recalls, makes TREAD (Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation Act)sem minor by comparison.
Features
Patent Correction: Navigating the Confusing Terrain of Broadening Reissue
There are times when a patent owner may discover that an issued patent does not claim everything that the patent should have covered. When such defects are discovered, one strategy a patent owner may wish to consider is filing a request with the USPTO for a broadened reissue of a U.S. patent to enlarge the scope of the claims of the original patent.
Features
Practice Tip: Twombly and Iqbal Are Everywhere
The impact of <i>Twombly</i> and <i>Iqbal</i> on the pleading standard in federal motions to dismiss has been well documented during the last several years. This article examines the impact that these important cases have had when fraudulent joinder becomes an issue.
Korean War Memorial Copyright Infringed By U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held the U.S. Postal Service liable for copyright infringement for its use on a postage stamp of an image of a number of sculptures created by Frank Gaylord for the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Establishing Diversity in Medical Device Litigation
A medical device manufacturer served with a product liability lawsuit in state court often prefers to be in federal court, but diversity jurisdiction requirements cannot be met because a local hospital that purchased the device and supplied it for use on the plaintiff-patient is a non-diverse co-defendant.
Features
A Madness to the Method? The Impact of Bilski on Method Patents
For more than a year, the software/information technology, financial, and even biotech industries, along with the patent bar, waited for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue of business methods and patent-eligible subject matter under ' 101 of the Patent Act. In its recent decision in <i>Bilski v. Kappos</i>, the Supreme Court provided an answer for the business method claimed by Bilski, but not a lot of detailed guidance for future cases.
Building a Successful Women's Initiative
Law firms across the country continue to struggle with the recruitment, retention and advancement of women. The findings of multiple national surveys consistently show that women make up almost half of all law school graduating classes, yet they account for less than 20% of the partners in most large law firms.
Features
Policing Workplace e-Mail Use
On-the-job Internet surfing has become a problem that employers can no longer ignore. A recent Office of Inspector General investigation, for example, revealed that senior-level SEC staff, including an attorney, used their workplace computers to view online pornography for up to eight hours per day during the period of time that led this country's biggest economic meltdown since the Great Depression.
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
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.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 ›
- 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 ›
- Don't Sleep On Prohibitions on the Assignability of LeasesAttorneys advising commercial tenants on commercial lease documents should not sleep on prohibitions or other limitations on their client's rights to assign or transfer their interests in the leasehold estate. Assignment and transfer provisions are just as important as the base rent or any default clauses, especially in the era where tenants are searching for increased flexibility to maneuver in the hybrid working environment where the future of in-person use of real estate remains unclear.Read More ›
- Developments in Distressed LendingRecently, in two separate cases, secured lenders have received, as part of their adequate protection package, the right to obtain principal paydowns during a bankruptcy case.Read More ›
