LJN Newsletters

  • Prescription Drugs: Consumer Fraud in Sales and Marketing

    Claims of consumer fraud are difficult and rarely succeed in the context of a pharmaceutical product liability action. They are, however, troublesome, because the pleading of such a claim often opens the door to extensive discovery of the company's sales and marketing departments. If the defendant cannot succeed in obtaining a dismissal prior to trial, it may still permit the jury to hear evidence of sales tactics and strategies that often paint the manufacturer in a less-than-favorable light. Companies should be aware of the potential for such claims and plan their sales and marketing strategies accordingly.

    October 29, 2007Frank Fazio and Anne E. Wagstaff

  • Bit Parts

    Performers' Names/Trademarks; Right of Publicity/Descendibility; Talent Agencies Act/Arbitration Clauses; Talent Agencies Act/Severability; Taxation/Film Manufacturing

    October 29, 2007Stan Soocher

  • Cameo Clips

    COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/LACK OF ACCESS; COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITY; COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION/DEPOSIT COPY; RECORD-DISTRIBUTION DEALS/DERIVATIVE-SONGS RIGHTS; RECORD-LABEL VALUATION/EXPERT WITNESSES; RIGHT OF PUBLICITY/FIRST AMENDMENT

    October 29, 2007ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Safe-Harbor Considerations For Web Videos

    From YouTube's perspective, taking burdensome steps to prevent the posting of potentially infringing content could destroy the business model and consumer goodwill upon which it relies. [Although YouTube recently announced it was tesing a new copyright filtering process.] This information sharing/rights protection dilemma is not solely limited to YouTube ' many Web sites and other service providers face decisions every day concerning the propriety of user-generated content. The U.S. Copyright Act may provide a critical solution to that dilemma.

    October 29, 2007Jakob Halpern

  • Retroactive Move Doesn't Block Copyright Suit

    Copyright-infringement claims can go forward against Mary J. Blige, the 'Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,' the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, reversing a lower court determination. Davis v. Blige.

    October 29, 2007Beth Bar

  • Navigating the Potential Traps in Licensing Content for Online Uses

    Copyright owners who are considering licensing their content for online exploitations must understand that they are venturing into still largely uncharted waters with few reliable partners. It's better than it was in 2000 ' or even 2003 ' but it's still not an entirely stable environment with dangerous shoals along the route. Don't assume that words you have seen in contracts for decades have the same meaning to your online licensee as they would to a court.

    October 29, 2007Christian L. Castle

  • In re Allied Chemical Corp.: 'Cause' for Celebration By Defendants?

    The Texas Supreme Court has made it clear that it considers the disclosure of the identities of medical or other causation experts willing to link plaintiffs' injuries to defendants' products or behavior as 'basic information' without which defendants cannot mount an appropriate defense. At least in the case of mass tort claims, trial courts are barred from setting trial dates or otherwise moving cases forward without providing defendants with a real opportunity to obtain basic causation information from plaintiffs' counsel.

    October 29, 2007By Kurt Hamrock and Geraldine Doetzer

  • e-Commerce Docket Sheet

    Recent cases in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.

    October 29, 2007ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Practice Tip: The Earning Capacity of Business Owners

    The owner of a business can claim as lost earning capacity in a personal-injury action only the working time lost due to injuries and harm to future earning capacity, not the business' alleged profits in perpetuity.

    October 29, 2007Chad L. Staller