National rulings of interest to you and your practice.

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In mediation, a trained third-party neutral is selected by the parties (or appointed by a tribunal) to assist the parties in resolving their dispute. Mediators may be members of a panel, are associated with a dispute resolution organization, or have a private mediation practice. Mediators serve pursuant to written mediation agreements that provide for confidentiality of the process, and outline the procedure that will be used in the mediation session. The hallmark of mediation is that the mediator meets with both sides, in joint and separate caucuses, and guides the parties through exchange of information and exploration of interests and positions in a confidential setting with the goal of enabling the parties to reach agreement themselves.

Critical questions for the Supreme Court are likely to be the amount of non-infringing activity required for a contributory or vicarious infringer to escape liability for use of its product, and perhaps the intent of the defendant in developing and marketing its product.

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On January 1, 2005, the Recording Industry Accounting Practices Act took effect in California. The law, which was proposed by California State Legislator Kevin Murray (D-Culver City), gives artists minimum statutory audit rights that override several of the disputed audit provisions of standard recording agreements.

A roundup of recent court decisions on provisions in entertainment industry contracts.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the major federal anti-discrimination law and prohibits job bias on the basis or race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which administers Title VII, has issued a policy guidance stating that the statute does not prohibit isolated instances of preferential treatment based on consensual romantic relationships -- "An isolated instance of favoritism to a 'paramour' (or a spouse, or a friend) may be unfair, but it does not discriminate against women or men in violation of Title VII, since both are disadvantaged for reasons other than their genders."

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Deals get done today online much more quickly than on paper. Lawyers, clients and investment bankers routinely swap blacklines several times a day by e-mail as negotiations proceed without the loss of a single tree. <br>But once the deal is done, is everyone always really sure of the terms to which he or she "agreed"?

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