Features

Circuit Revives Copyright Case Against MP3tunes, Founder
Record companies and music publishers will get more damages and a second shot at holding the founder of MP3tunes liable for additional copyright infringement following a federal appeals court decision on Oct. 25.
Features

Making Your Website ADA Accessible
As companies across the country rush to embrace the Internet and other electronic technologies, they must be mindful of this very real exposure to liability — website inaccessibility. Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, it means that people with disabilities cannot only perceive, understand, navigate and interact with the Web, but can also contribute to it.
Features

2016: The Year Everything Changed In Social Media Marketing
Three megatrends culminated in online business development in 2016, requiring attorneys to change their digital marketing tactics and to re-focus on what produces results.
Features

Attorneys Accused of Filing Bogus Suits in Alleged Scheme to Stamp Out Negative Web Reviews
Two California lawyers have been accused of participating in a scheme that used sham lawsuits to suppress negative online reviews of businesses.
Features

Software and Business Method Inventions After <i>Alice</i>
As important as software and business method inventions are in the new digital economy, it is often unclear whether they can be patented. This uncertainty is largely due to a legal rule that “abstract ideas” are not eligible for patent protection, which is based on a long line of U.S. Supreme Court cases, with <i>Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank</i> being the most recent and influential.
Features

Drafting Film Production Compensation Clauses In Light of State Tax Credit Requirements
Compensation provisions in entertainment contracts are in one or two subparagraphs. To simplify drafting and to use “plain English,” the compensation provisions often contain introductory, governing language along the lines of: “In full and complete consideration for entering into and performing all of the terms hereof.” However, is such a “plain English” approach always a “best practice”?
Features

<i>Decision of Note</i>: Second Circuit Rules on e-Book Sample in Digital Locker
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided that an agreement between a book author and a publisher allowed a customer of distributor Barnes & Noble to retain a sample of the book in the “digital locker” the distributor provided to the customer.
Features

Ninth Circuit Examines Copyright Liability Merch Photos Case
When, as is often the case, actual copyright damages are difficult to prove, statutory damages may provide the best option for recovery. Recently, in <i>Friedman v. Live Nation Merchandise</i>, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered, among other things, two issues greatly affecting the amount of statutory copyright damages: 1) willfulness; and 2) the number of separate awards available for downstream infringements.
Features

On the Hot Seat: Five Must-Haves for Today's Am Law 100 Chief Operating Officers
Over the years, the structure of law firms has shifted from a geographical model to a practice group model. Rather than placing leaders in each geographical office, law firm practice group leaders have more power. As law firms have evolved in size, reach, and complexity, so too has the need for seasoned executives to manage the business of law.
Features

Government Agencies Take Aim at Employment-Related Agreements
The SEC's and DOL's scrutiny of severance agreements follow earlier scrutiny by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other government agencies. These developments provide an urgency for company counsel to bring their employment agreements and policies into compliance.
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