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Movers & Shakers
Information about the advancement of lawyers in the patent profession.
Features
Don't Get Caught With Your Patents Down
Part One of this series discussed the history of licensing and the need to prove infringement. This month's installment addresses patent trolls and the rise of the Asian IP powerhouse.
Searching for BRICS
The worldwide patenting landscape is undergoing slow but inevitable tectonic shifts. During the first half of this century, the oligopoly of the United States, Europe, and Japan as the source of the vast majority of new ideas will be broken with the rise of innovation concentrated in other nations beyond the Trilateral, as the USPTO, EPO, and JPO are known.
Features
Intellectual Property: Currency of the New Economy
This article considers the way in which the capital markets view IP assets and the means by which IP is emerging as the currency of the new economy.
Five Significant Inter-Generational Relations Blunders
Firms are struggling with generational divides because they make the blunders enumerated in this article.
Features
It's No Coincidence: The Successful Firms Have Strong Management and Leadership
Nothing is as important to the success of a law firm as strong leadership at the top. Yet, in far too many firms, the partners are still reluctant to give anyone the CEO authority needed for effective management and leadership.
Features
Advancing Women in Law Firms
This article lays the groundwork for those in power to learn how they can help women lawyers succeed.
Features
Forfeiture-for-Competition Agreements
Law firms are constrained by professional ethics in how they address the issues of lawyer mobility. Rule 5.6 of the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility expressly prohibits lawyers from entering into agreements that restrict their right to practice, including covenants not to compete. The overwhelming majority of jurisdictions interpret the rule to preclude less direct restrictions on competition, including financial penalties known as 'forfeiture-for-competition' agreements.
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- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA 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.Read More ›
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- The Brave New World of Cybersecurity Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Pitfalls and OpportunitiesLike poorly-behaved school children, new technologies and intellectual property (IP) are increasingly disrupting the M&A establishment. Cybersecurity has become the latest disruptive newcomer to the M&A party.Read More ›
- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn 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.Read More ›
- Guidance on Distributions As 'Disbursements' and U.S. Trustee FeesIn a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."Read More ›