Features

Estate Planning In the Age of Cryptocurrency
<b><i>Cryptocurrency's Technological Character Allows Estate Planning to Protect the Intent of Its Holders, But the Lack of Statutory Structure Necessitates Proactive Steps</b></i><p>Cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, has value and therefore is increasingly likely to become an estate asset. Due to the nature of cryptocurrency, typical wills and revocable living trusts may not be well suited to efficiently transfer this new type of asset. Consequently, new estate planning questions and clauses are needed.
Features

Online Extra: The Evolving Nature of Cyber Law
<b><i>A Q&A with Penn Law Prof. Anne Toomey McKenna</b></i><p>The newly appointed Penn State professor sees a lot of room for questions in the evolving cyber law landscape, but so far there are few answers.
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Current Issues In Enforcing Judgments Against LLCs
When a creditor obtains a judgment against a debtor, the debtor's assets are sometimes held in membership interests in an LLC, which presents challenges for the creditor seeking recovery. The Uniform LLC Law provided for a charging order in such instances. Although the precise terms of each state's LLC laws vary, some version of the charging order procedure is available in all states.
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Plot Thickens for Dispute over 'Star Wars'-Related Card Game App
In a lawsuit over rights to a card game with a pivotal role in the <i>Star Wars</i> saga, Lucasfilm Ltd. won an early battle against app maker Ren Ventures Ltd. when a federal district judge in San Francisco declined to dismiss Lucasfilm's claims based on Ren Ventures' use of various trademarks, primarily centered on the game Sabacc.
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Considering Lease Assignment Provisions in the Light of an Enterprise's Broader Business Plan
When entering into or acquiring leases for locations, a retail or restaurant business must consider broader business concerns in negotiating the leases' assignment provisions. Those provisions can inadvertently create major obstacles in the ultimate conveyance or financing of the business.
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Online Extra: Facebook's Blockchain Bet Could Place It in the Data Decentralization Debate
<i><b>Oft-Considered an Avenue for Individuals to Attain Greater Control over Their Digital Information, Blockchain Could Be Leveraged By Facebook to Change Its Status As “Gatekeeper” for User Data</i></b><p>Facebook Inc. recently announced that it will begin exploring different ways to incorporate blockchain into its infrastructure. Yet, questions remain over how the social media company will implement the technology and what sort of legal challenges doing so could portend.
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Cash Flow Drought: How to Identify and Deal with It
Cash flow management can be particularly challenging. You need to account for the time lag between cash going out and cash coming in. This requires financial and management discipline, strong internal policies and procedures for billing and collection policies, planning and attention to detail.
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When Is a Bid or Offer a 'Spoof'?
<b><i>U.S. Supreme Court Denial of Cert Leaves Statute Vague</i></b><p>This article analyzes the confusion faced by commodity futures traders in assessing whether their trading strategies constitute illegal spoofing and examines whether the CFTC and Seventh Circuit have provided sufficient guidance on the distinction between spoofing and legitimate trading activity.
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Listening to the Client: Where Do We Stand?
If you listen to the marketplace, you will know what to do in connection with client growth and client retention. Are firms listening to this advice?
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Trademark 'Theft' With AdWords Keyword Bidding
<b><i>Many Courts Have Determined that AdWords Bidding Alone Does Not Create Sufficient Consumer Confusion to Support Trademark Infringement Claims</b></i><p>As Internet searching continues its rapid migration to mobile and inadvertent infringement becomes inevitable, the courts are likely to see an increase of litigation in this area.
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- 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 ›
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- 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 ›