Features
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Index
Easy-to-read listing of everything contained in this issue.
The Effect of Zoning Amendments on Pending Applications
Decided recently by Westchester Supreme Court, <i>Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club, Inc. v. Fraioli</i> raises a much litigated issue in New York: When can a municipality apply a newly enacted ordinance to a pending application by a developer?
Sona Squares Off Against Franchisees
Sona Laser Centers and Sona MedSpas is locked in an increasingly bitter dispute with some of its original franchisees, involving not only typical franchise issues but also the franchisees' allegations that at least one of the services they offer to customers, a laser treatment for hair removal, does not work. While franchisees have received considerable favorable publicity in the fight to date, Sona executives say that the actions of the franchisees belie some of their complaints, and Sona remains committed to building a national chain of spas.
Features
Independent Ink: Supreme Court Abandons Market Power Presumption of Patents
Franchisors that own intellectual property (patents, copyrights, or trademarks) for use as part of the franchise system have long been confronted with an unfortunate and misguided presumption that their intellectual property rights automatically gave them market power — an essential element of many antitrust claims — in the system's patented, copyrighted, or trademarked products and services. From an antitrust perspective, this presumption, although rebuttable, created a significant hurdle for franchisors accused of an illegal tying arrangement — which requires, as a preliminary element, proof of market power in the allegedly tying product (often the franchise itself).
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- Surveys in Patent Infringement Litigation: The Next FrontierMost experienced intellectual property attorneys understand the significant role surveys play in trademark infringement and other Lanham Act cases, but relatively few are likely to have considered the use of such research in patent infringement matters. That could soon change in light of the recent admission of a survey into evidence in <i>Applera Corporation, et al. v. MJ Research, Inc., et al.</i>, No. 3:98cv1201 (D. Conn. Aug. 26, 2005). The survey evidence, which showed that 96% of the defendant's customers used its products to perform a patented process, was admitted as evidence in support of a claim of inducement to infringe. The court admitted the survey into evidence over various objections by the defendant, who had argued that the inducement claim could not be proven without the survey.Read More ›
- The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance ProgramsThe parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.Read More ›
- In the SpotlightOn May 9, 2003, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Bayer Corporation, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, had been sentenced and ordered to pay a criminal fine of $5,590,800 stemming from its earlier plea of guilty to violating the Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act by failing to list with the FDA its drug product, Cipro, that was privately labeled for an HMO. Such listing is required under the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. The Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act, Pub. L. 100-293, enacted on April 22, 1988, as modified on August 26, 1992 by the Prescription Drug Amendments (PDA) Pub. L. 102-353, 106 Stat. 941, amended sections 301, 303, 503, and 801 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, codified at 21 U.S.C. '' 331, 333, 353, 381, to establish requirements for distributing prescription drug samples.Read More ›
