LJN Newsletters

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.

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.

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.

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.

Critics of the DMCA got some ammunition recently, when Warner Bros. asked Google to take down hundreds of copyright-infringing websites ' only to later realize that it had included legitimate sites and some of the entertainment company's own official pages. The blunder dredges up questions about whether the current notice-and-takedown system is working for both copyright owners and service providers.

With four IP cases on the docket and several more knocking at the door of certiorari, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised for a banner year of patent, trademark and copyright decisions.

Results have been mixed for employees accused of hacking into the databases of their own companies, competitors and potential business partners. This article discusses three recent cases in this area of law.

The case described herein involved misuse of confidential information by present and former employees. Although this case involved mortgage companies, the lessons learned are valuable to any business.