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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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- 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 ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- From the PTO to the FDA: What to Consider When Branding Clinical TrialsThe legal implications of branding generally arise initially for companies during the process of selecting a company name and any initial product or service names. For drug development companies, however, careful consideration should also be paid to the implications of branding a clinical trial.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›