Features
A Primer on Rights in Video Game Avatars
Recent lawsuits have grappled with the fair use of one's likeness in video games, attempting to apply established order to a changing field.
Features

Followup: PBS Wins Verdict In Suit By Fired TV Show Host Tavis Smiley
It was a trial to remember for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner Grace Speights, lead defense attorney for PBS against Tavis Smiley, former long-running…
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Los Angeles Federal Judge Tosses Out Jury's Infringement Verdict Against Katy Perry in "Dark Horse" Song Case Sales Agreement for Film Assets of Distributor in Bankruptcy Doesn't Affect Separate Lender for One of Debtor's Movies
Features

Coronavirus Work-from-Home Response A Boon for Cybercriminal Exploitation
Companies determined to protect their employees and minimize the impact of COVID-19 are enforcing travel restrictions and strong work-from-home policies. However those actions can be used against employees as any firms are likely unprepared for the criminal appetite for the cyberattack exploitation of a remote workforce. Here are some of the key issues of which law firms and companies need to be aware and steps that should be considered to minimize the risk to keep everyone — and client data — safe.
Features

COVID-19: Threats Abound: How to Protect Your Remote Workforce
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the conversation around remote work. As more employees work remotely, law firms must employ security best practices to ensure that the extended reliance on the cloud doesn't expose sensitive data or cripple daily operations. Following is a practical checklist of systems, technologies and processes to consider when evolving your firm for remote work and selecting your cloud technology provider.
Features

COVID-19: Companies, Trade Organizations Seek to Postpone CCPA Enforcement Date
Over 30 trade associations and companies co-signed a letter last month to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra asking him to push back the enforcement date for the California Consumer Privacy Act due to the new coronavirus and a lack of clarity on the enforcement rules.
Features

COVID 19: Selling in Times of Uncertainty
The natural instinct during times of chaos is to move into a place of scarcity. The single best gift you can offer clients is courage and confidence about the path forward.
Features

Supreme Court Defers to State Law on Ownership of Tax Refund
Federal courts should "turn to state law to resolve" a "fight over a tax refund," held a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court in Rodriquez v. FDIC (In re United W Bancorp., Inc.).
Features

The California Consumer Privacy Act is HERE: Are You Litigation Ready?
Most companies doing business in California are well aware of the CCPA and prepared diligently in advance of the law's Jan. 1, 2020 compliance deadline. While compliance certainly is key, even compliant businesses must consider — and prepare for — the eventual onslaught of class action litigation that is coming.
Features

Supreme Court Defers to State Law on Ownership of Tax Refund
High Court Rejects Application of Bob Roberts Rule Federal courts should "turn to state law to resolve" a "fight over a tax refund," held a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court in Rodriquez v. FDIC (In re United W Bancorp., Inc.)
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- 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 Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›