The tangled bankruptcy mess created by former boy band impresario Lou Pearlman, currently in prison after admitting he ran a $300 million Ponzi scheme, has left a trail of out-of-pocket investors looking to recoup their losses.
In the high-stakes court battle over the constitutionality of a federal law that bans all Internet gambling transactions that would be illegal in the gambler's state, a trio of federal appeals judges in Philadelphia appeared unlikely to strike the law down.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the copyright infringement case brought by television networks and Hollywood studios against Cablevision over technology that allows viewers to record TV shows.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a finding of contempt against associates, family employees and corporate successors-in-interest of music promoter Larry Marshak over use of the name of The Drifters vocal group. But the appeals court strengthened remedies that plaintiff Faye Treadwell, widow of former Drifters manager George Treadwell, had been awarded by the district court in the contempt proceeding.
Anyone following summer motion picture releases will note the seasonal prevalence of big budget sequels to successful films. In some instances, sequels are derived solely from the scripts of previously produced motion pictures (e.g., Terminator, Night at the Museum). In other instances, they connect with books or book series that were made into one or more prior films (e.g., Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Angels & Demons). Mindful of the vast rewards that can flow from these so-called "franchises" (e.g., the James Bond franchise), Hollywood studios structure their agreements with book authors to maximize their chances of creating one.
Who's doing what; who's going where.
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
It's not common that a franchise is embroiled in a dispute that has the potential to disrupt or force operational changes to the entire system. But when those situations arise, franchisors are faced with the unpleasant decision whether it's worth taking on the "bet-the-system" challenge.
Unless one is aware of the potential pitfalls, even so-called "iron-clad" indemnification clauses or insurance provisions in a franchise agreement can be all for naught. This article discusses the interplay between insurance, indemnification, and the default common-law rules, so that franchisors and franchisees can avoid those dangerous pitfalls.
