Explaining that the "bankruptcy court had no jurisdiction to take such action," the Fifth Circuit also vacated the district's court's improper ruling that the bankruptcy judge could enter a personal judgment against the asset buyer.
Examiner appointments in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases are uncommon, and despite Judge Peter J. Walsh's statement that he had appointed an examiner only two or three times during his career as a bankruptcy judge, he recently ordered the appointment of an examiner in In re DBSI, Inc.
Copyright Infringement/Parody
Mechanical Licenses/Prospective Song "Holds"
Right of Publicity/"Non-Commercial" Purpose
Sampling Licenses/Song Infringement
Lawyers scurried to San Jose, CA, bankruptcy court in April to argue over the remains of SeeqPod Inc., the first big casualty on the newest front in the legal war between the record industry and the Internet.
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/JURY INSTRUCTIONS
TRADEMARK USES/QUALITY CONTROL
New York broadcast employees who otherwise have been subject to restrictive non-compete clauses in their employment contracts are the prime beneficiaries of the Broadcast Employees Freedom to Work Act, NY Labor Law '202-k, signed into law in 2008 by Governor David Paterson. The law forbids some, but not all, attempts by employers in broadcasting media to restrict the range of opportunities for certain employees following the termination or expiration of employment. Similar legislation benefiting broadcast industry employees has been passed in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine and Washington, DC; and non-compete provisions are banned in California.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado granted summary judgment for a group of artists and businesses that challenged '514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
Since 2004, Truth in Music Advertising statutes have been enacted in more than 26 states. These laws, aimed at preventing consumer confusion between a recording group and a performing group, set forth several conditions, at least one of which must be met to legally use the name of a music group in conjunction with a concert performance. In April 2009, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey issued a ruling in a case that involved the constitutionality of that state's law.
Opportunity knocks when you least expect it ' but will it knock when the economy is in freefall and the legal profession is seeing some of its worst layoffs ever? Whether you're an e-commerce attorney, or engage in general practice, the economy can visit your firm ' whether a large partnership or a one-person shop ' and deal a blow. The answer: maybe, if you network!
While it is helpful to be able to research issues online and communicate with key employees while sitting at the board table, I find that the level of distraction from the board's deliberations has diminished the value of these meetings, for me and for the company. While this problem is certainly not limited to e-commerce or technology firms, I think that the great reliance on such technology by their executives and directors makes the legal duty to "pay attention" even more of a pressing issue for such firms.
