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News Briefs

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

The latest news from the franchising world.

Court Watch Image

Court Watch

Cynthia M. Klaus & Meredith Bauer

CA Court Rules Jury Trial Waiver Was Not Conspicuous

Features

Appellate Court Says Waiver Enforceable, Notwithstanding Statute Image

Appellate Court Says Waiver Enforceable, Notwithstanding Statute

Douglas M. Mansfield & J. Todd Kennard

Many state franchise or distributor statutes contain provisions that purport to limit the enforceability of waivers or releases signed by dealers or franchisees. The restrictions on waivers are often justified on claimed "inequality of power" between the manufacturer or distributor and franchisee. One court recently struck a blow in favor of manufacturers and distributors in upholding a waiver even though part of the statute expressly referenced restrictions on certain waivers.

Features

Franchisors Must Prepare for Pending Introduction of New Top-Level Domains Image

Franchisors Must Prepare for Pending Introduction of New Top-Level Domains

Ryan Kaatz & Brian Schnell

In only a few short months, franchisors must choose whether to register a top-level domain (TLD) that corresponds with the franchisor's trademark or company name. Similar to current TLDs .com, .net, and .org, new TLDs like .hilton, .coke, or .merrilllynch will be available. A franchisor's choice must balance potentially significant commercial, advertising, and security opportunities with substantial financial and technological investment.

Peer-to-Peer May Share Some Nightmares Image

Peer-to-Peer May Share Some Nightmares

Tresa Baldas

Unknown to corporate America, the popular peer-to-peer file-sharing networks that allow music and movies to be shared could be sharing something else with the public: company secrets and personal data.

Features

Search Engine Optimization Raises Bar for Law Firm Web Sites Image

Search Engine Optimization Raises Bar for Law Firm Web Sites

Conrad Saam

Search engines compete with each other on their ability to guide users to relevant content. The search engines, therefore, reward those Web pages that provide useful content to their consumers with high rankings. To understand how to get the most out of search engine optimization, it is important to learn how search engines catalogue and evaluate trillions of Web pages to determine which one is most relevant to a given search query.

Features

The Trouble with Anonymous Bloggers Image

The Trouble with Anonymous Bloggers

Joel Cohen & Katherine A. Helm

cyberspace enables anyone willing to spring for a domain name and pay an Internet service provider $15 a month to become a "publisher." And even better for these latter-day Horace Greeleys, they can corral a limitless number of "reporters" without paying one red cent. Small wonder that blogging has become a force of mainstream media. Indeed, blog owners basically need only to grant anonymity to those who post to their Web sites.

Google: Done Paying Valley's Legal Bills Image

Google: Done Paying Valley's Legal Bills

Fred von Lohmann

For most of the decade, Silicon Valley technology startups have assumed that Google would pay their legal bills. Not literally, mind you, but rather by taking on the big, high-profile cases about fair use, interoperability and other digital intellectual property issues that would set precedents upon which all disruptive innovators could rely. Well, Google just put the Valley on notice that the free ride is over, which means more legal burdens for smaller technology companies that previously depended on Google clearing a path for them.

Features

Whose Space? Discoverability of Social Networking Web Sites Image

Whose Space? Discoverability of Social Networking Web Sites

Ronald J. Levine & Susan L. Swatski-Lebson

This article explores a social networking site user's right to privacy, an adversary's right to obtain information from that site, and the admissibility of the information.

Features

<b><i>Product Review:</b></i> Clio, Effective SaaS Practice Management For the Small Firm Image

<b><i>Product Review:</b></i> Clio, Effective SaaS Practice Management For the Small Firm

Catherine Merino Reisman

As a partner in a small firm, I must divide my time between servicing current clients, finding new ones and running the operational side of my small business. In addition, I have three children, so it is essential for me to be able to work from home and office interchangeably. Another challenge is that my client base requires me to travel frequently, which makes it imperative for me to have access to my client data wherever I am, day or night.

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MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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