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Fed. Cir.: Patent Application Provided Sufficient Written Description to Provide Priority Date<br>Fed Cir: Patent Trial Appeals Board's Decision on Assignor Estoppel is Not Reviewable<br>Fed. Cir.: Automatic Method for Lip Synchronization and Facial Expressions of Animated Characters is Patentable Subject Matter

Photo Agency's Suit Against <i>Oh No They Didn't!</i> At Ninth Circuit
A photo agency that sued the owner of online tabloid Oh No They Didn't! for copyright infringement is hoping to reverse a ruling that threw out its case, prompting Pinterest and others to weigh in and argue that reviving the case could erode legal protections afforded to Internet service providers.
Features

<i>CYBER-ETHICS:</i> Technological Competence Obligations and the Interplay of the ABA Model Rules and Attorney Cybersecurity
The ABA has long published its Model Rules of Professional Conduct and modifies them from time-to-time to stay current with legal and technological developments and advances. While these Model Rules are not officially binding on attorneys, they have been adopted in large part by nearly every stateand provide a guideline for attorneys across the country regarding standards of professional responsibility and ethical conduct.
Features

Challenges to the DOJ's Jurisdiction over Extraterritorial Conduct
Last month, the authors observed that the U.S. Supreme Court has in recent years attempted to limit the extraterritorial reach of federal courts, making it harder for them to get personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants The results of these efforts have been less than stellar. However, as the authors point out here, there are some defenses that may still work.
Features

In-House Counsel
Internal investigations have always posed vexing issues for in-house counsel. They need to make difficult decisions on matters such as scope and purpose of the investigation, who will conduct the investigation, how costs will be controlled, and the work product that they will generate.
Columns & Departments
In the Courts
Analysis of a case in which a utility company was convicted for regulatory violations based on corporate collective knowledge .
Features

Recent Developments in the Responsible Corporate Office Doctrine
Until recently, the typical FDCA case has involved an executive who pleaded guilty to one or more misdemeanors in the face of DOJ allegations of felony misconduct. But until the Supreme Court clarifies the bounds of the FDCA, district courts will struggle with identifying the necessary elements of individual criminal liability.
Features

Jeter Endorsement Dispute Examines Role As a Director of Apparel Company
Contracts between a corporation and a corporate director can give rise to certain difficulties in managing expectations of the director's obligations and responsibilities. Such contracts may create obligations that extend beyond those fiduciary duties inherent to the director position. This extension of the director's role may increase the risk of a conflict between a director's contractual obligations and his fiduciary duties.
Features

Beats Headphones Royalty Dispute Saga Heads to Trial
Former hedge fund manager Steven Lamar, who helped launch Dr. Dre's Beats headphones a decade ago, won the right to go to trial against the rap artist and record producer after the California Court of Appeal revived his $100 million case over unpaid royalties.
Features

The New FCPA Cooperation Plan
The DOL recently issued its final overtime rule revamping the white collar exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act for executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employees. This Final Rule, effective Dec. 1, 2016, rolls out major changes for employers.
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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 ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.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 ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.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 ›