A lawsuit involving the Public Broadcasting Service and former TV host Tavis Smiley has created the kind of drama that would make the cast of Downton Abbey blush. This is because the litigation centers on an alleged breach of the "morals clause" included in the agreement that gave rise to the Tavis Smiley talk show.
Technology is changing more rapidly than ever impacting our work, and personal lives. With technology playing such a huge role, it is important for legal marketers to be familiar with technology trends to understand the potential impact on our clients and law firm.
Voluntary Turnover or Face Contempt Lessors who repossess property immediately prior to a lessee bankruptcy filing may be required to return such property or face sanctions by the bankruptcy court. Federal courts are currently split on the issue of whether the lessor must voluntary surrender property seized petition or may hold such property until such time as the debtor seeks, and obtains, an order of turnover.
With the intense competition for new legal work, demands on lawyers' available time and the increasing discounts clients demand, it's getting harder for law firms operating under a billable-hour business model to support the consistent development of new legal work by investing in and maintaining a marketing department alone.
The foundational requirement that a trademark function as a trademark has received little attention in the case law. More recently, however, there has been an apparent uptick in scrutiny of trademark use by the USPTO and TTAB, as well as fresh academic attention paid to the issue.
Real estate syndication offerings often rely on Rule 506 of Regulation D to exempt such offerings from registration under the Securities Act. Rule 506 requires that, with certain limited exceptions, purchasers of the securities offered are limited to accredited investors. Amendments proposed by the SEC in December modify certain of the existing categories of accredited investors and create certain new categories.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court enlivened the Thanksgiving holidays of privacy lawyers in 2018 with its decision in Dittman v. UPMC, which held that an employer has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to safeguard employees' personal information. While the scope of the decision technically was confined to the employer-employee relationship, the court's reasoning implies that such a duty of reasonable care may arise in any scenario where one party engages in the collection of personal information.
Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) intrusions are sophisticated cyber-attacks carried out by well-funded and organized cyber-criminals. The attacks are designed to establish persistence using various tactics, techniques and procedures that are intended to avoid detection and mimic authorized activity in the environment, known as "living off the land."
The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently revisited an oft-contested issue in the area of premises liability: whether a commercial landlord owes a duty to its tenant's business invitees to maintain the premises, under a triple net lease, where the tenant is in exclusive possession of the demised premises.
Florida lawmakers have introduced companion bills in the Florida House (HB 963) and Senate (SB 1670) that would create limited online privacy rights and obligations in the state. The legislation appears to be very similar to the Nevada Online Privacy Protection Act, which was amended last year to add a right to opt-out of sales of covered information.
