LJN Newsletters

The Federal Circuit has held that, as with utility patents, design patents must be construed by the court. See Elmer v. ICC Fabricating, Inc., 67 F.3d 1571, 1577 (Fed. Cir. 1995). This apparently simple mandate has proven difficult in practice. The single claim in a design patent typically consists only of a series of drawings depicting the patented design. The basic premise of Markman ' that a judge's experience with the interpretation of documents will likely allow him or her to produce a more accurate and consistent claim interpretation ' does not intuitively extend to design patents, nor is it apparent that a judge's interpretation of the drawings will be any more proper and uniform than a jury's interpretation.

Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.

Part One of a Two-Part Series.Anyone who has been in the leasing business for much time at all understands that a transaction that the parties describe as a "lease" can be either a "true lease" where the lessor owns the leased equipment or a "loan" which results in the lessee being the owner and the lessor having merely a security interest. The latter is commonly referred to as "disguised security interests" or "leases intended as security" or "financing leases." Many people also have a general understanding of the distinction between the two, and most of those reading this article have heard one person or another proclaim the bright-line rule that a lease with a dollar purchase option is a loan and a lease with a fair market value purchase option is a true lease.

A recent circuit court decision regarding the interpretation of section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code has set up a conflict between two circuits. On March 15, 2004, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an opinion regarding whether bankruptcy debtors are required to cure nonmonetary defaults prior to assuming unexpired leases under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §365. In re Bankvest Capital Corp. (Eagle Insurance Co. v. Bankvest Capital Corp.), 360 F.3d 291 (1st Cir. 2004). The First Circuit found — expressly contrary to a holding of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — that debtors are not required to cure such defaults, resulting in a split in the circuits over a very widely used section of the code.

Throughout the 40-year history of U.S. leveraged leasing, deals have occasionally gone bad. Lessees default, markets change, equipment loses value ' sometimes even the best planned and executed deal may turn out to be the biggest problem in a lessor's portfolio.

... Any high school business student knows that marketing is an important and mandatory part of any business. This comes as a shock to attorneys who often conceive of themselves as belonging to some sort of 19th century guild. ...

The competition is heating up and smaller firms are in the hunt for ways to appear larger and have capabilities generally reserved for larger firms. The good news is that perception can become reality. Here are a few ways to "think big."

When creating a marketing plan, the topic of exhibiting at trade shows invariably comes up. If your firm determines that a trade show will be a beneficial part of the marketing mix, it must be seamlessly integrated into the firm's marketing and sales plan rather than it being treated as an isolated event. This is not to say that the big show cannot be the crowning event of the year or as a kick-off for new promotions. Make the trade show part of a Master Plan.