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Federal Circuit: <i>Halo Electronics</i> Sent Back to District Court <br>
Features
Six Keys to a Successful Law Firm Merger
Over the past two years, the author has been involved in three merger situations and iscurrently working on two more. He has worked closely with the managing partners and committees of these firms and has come away with the six factors that he believes determine the success or failure of law firm merger discussions.
Features
The False Claims Act After <i>Escobar:</i> A Three-Part Test
In a unanimous opinion in <I>Universal Health Servs. v. United States ex rel. Escobarr</I>, 195 the Supreme Court recently provided a new framework for assessing false certification liability under the False Claims Act (FCA).
Copyrightable Karaoke Tracks Not Protected By Trademark Act
Slep-Tone Entertainment Corporation and its successor in interest, Phoenix Entertainment Partners, filed more than 150 Lanham Act suits throughout the country. The suits alleged that defendants had committed trademark infringement by making unauthorized copies and performing commercial karaoke files containing Slep-Tone's registered trademark "Sound Choice" and graphically displayed trade dress.
Features
Tax Reporting Laws Raise Privacy Claim Risks for Online Companies
States are scrambling to shore up sales tax revenues that are eroding because of e-commerce sales. A new approach to sales tax collections involves information reports on customers' online purchases. This approach may create potential legal claims against many online companies for giving too much information about customers to state tax agencies or even to the customers themselves.
Features
Challenges in Solar Equipment Finance
Growth in solar-generation capacity has not been evenly distributed across the country, as some states' policies and laws are solar-friendly, while those in other states pose barriers. One such barrier in many states is the lack of access to financing.
IP Protection Issues in Brexit
Entertainment companies routinely enter into international transactions that involve intellectual property (IP) rights. What is the impact of the United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union (EU) on these IP rights, specifically on patent and trademark rights.
Features
Professional Development: As New Associates Join This Fall
A firm's new associate orientation sets the tone and creates a foundation from which all future activities will be measured. If an orientation program is unorganized, inconsistent or lacking in usefulness, the experience might tarnish the new attorney's impression of his or her employer.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Law Firms and the Rise of HospitalityThe law firm office cannot remain unchanged, as if frozen in time set to some date prior to the onset of pandemic, when the terms and meaning have all changed. In fact, the office must now provide benefits or an experience the lawyers and staff cannot get at home.Read More ›
- Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.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 ›
- Lack of Logo Placement At Center of Ruling Over Meat Loaf Album PackagingTo build visibility for its brand, a record label or production company will want its logo included on products containing its master recordings manufactured and distributed by third parties. This will be addressed in the agreement between the label or production company and manufacturer/distributor. The failure to include the logo may raise a host of issues, from the breadth of the logo-placement obligation ' such as whether it includes Internet downloads ' to the proper theory on which to base any damages and just which album-sales figures are subject to evidentiary discovery. A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ' in a long-running dispute between Cleveland International Records and Sony Music Entertainment ' illustrated how these issues may be argued and decided.Read More ›