Features

Filing a Reissue Can Correct Serious Patent Errors
Reissue applications may be quite useful. They may be useful in correcting some type of errors that one would normally think of as "errors" in the strict sense of the word. But they may also be used to correct "errors" in scope of patent protection and may thus be used to increase patent value and should thus be considered as a strategic tool in a patent holder's toolbox.
Columns & Departments
Fresh Filings
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant Law
Double Rent Holdover Provision Enforceable; Late Fee Unenforceable As a Penalty Extrinisic Evidence Inadmissible to Vary Terms of Lease Agreement Court Upholds Holdover and Prejudgment Interest Provisions Unsigned Lease Agreement Not Binding
Features

Second Circuit Ruling Offers Ways to Mitigate FCPA Risk Through Corporate Structure
Despite the FCPA's breadth and its aggressive enforcement, it has largely escaped judicial scrutiny. Individuals and companies are reluctant to test the bounds of the law and risk federal prison or crippling penalties. But one man has refused to fall in line and has almost single-handedly shaped recent FCPA jurisprudence.
Features

Will Other States Follow NY's Lead on Requiring Cybersecurity CLE?
New York has become the first state to add a requirement mandating that lawyers take legal education courses in cybersecurity, privacy and data protection. As cyberthreats will likely continue to both grow and evolve in sophistication, attorneys expect this requirement to be only a first step, with more states likely to soon follow.
Features

Are You Facing a Problem or a Crisis?
Recognizing the many degrees of severity and activity levels is crucial when a matter presents itself. Is it time to go scorched earth or take it in stride and allow a situation to fizzle? When defining the spectrum from minor issue to crisis, it is vital to understand how a problem can become a crisis if left unattended or how jumping the gun and overreacting can be disastrous.
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Update On Preference and Fraudulent Transfer Litigation
The appellate courts have been busy explaining or clarifying preference and fraudulent transfer law. Although novices may think the Bankruptcy Code (Code) is clear on its face, imaginative counsel have found gaps in the statute and generated rafts of litigation since the Code's enactment in 1979. Recent appellate decisions, summarized below, show that courts are still making new law or refining prior case law.
Features

Rulings on COVID-19 Defenses In Commercial Real Estate
Despite some new variants and a possible resurgence in the fall, the pandemic closures seem to be finally coming to an end. And with it, so too have most of the COVID-19 defenses in court cases involving commercial leases. However, all may not be foreclosed for a commercial tenant, particularly where a tenant is able to point to a specific provision of its lease that could excuse its obligation to pay rent during the closure of its business.
Features

Law Firms May Make 'Course Corrections' to Battle Inflation
If inflation remains at current levels, law firm billing rate increases won't be able to keep pace. But firm leaders may make other "course corrections" to capture profits through the end of 2022, analysts say, by utilizing leverage and alternative pricing models and making additional investments in technology.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Brian Wilson's Ex-Wife Wins Remand Back to State Court of Her Claim to Share of Revenues from Sale of His Song Catalog
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