Can You Tell Employees, 'OK, Enough with the Piercing' ?
Just when is OK as an employer or prospective employer to suggest canceling that extra visit to the tattoo artist or piercing salon?
Columns & Departments
Court Watch
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows employees to sue their employers for various employment-related causes of action. Courts in two recent cases have ruled that actions brought, pursuant to the FLSA, by franchisees and franchisee employees, sufficiently alleged that franchisors were "employers" to withstand motions to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
Columns & Departments
At the Intersection: Cutting Corners
In this second of three related posts, we consider whether clients' increasing efforts to control outside legal spend forces their outside counsel to "cut corners."
Features
Professional Development: Better Rainmaking
Are you an ISTJ or an ENFP, perhaps an INTP? What is this alphabet soup, you ask? It's the letters used in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment tool. Why should you care? Because knowing your letters will help you be a better rainmaker.
Features
What Happens to Your Digital Estate After You Die?
Ever wonder what happens to your social media accounts, e-mail, online texts and other digital content when you die? Do they simply expire, leaving nothing behind but digital dust? Or can you authorize someone to take them over after you pass on? And if so, what powers would such a person possess?
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit Defines "By Means Of" <br>Doctrine of Claim Differentiation Insufficient to Overcome Plain Meaning of Claim Term<br>Patentee's Failure to Connect the Dots Insufficient, But Not Sanction-Worthy
Features
Legal Analytics and Corporate Law Today
In this Q&A, panelists discuss the impact of Legal Analytics on the legal profession and how it can be used to gain an edge in the highly competitive business and practice of law.
Features
Digital Media and the New U.S. Copyright Office Compendium
Much has been written about the so-called "monkey selfie" and the dispute about whether nature photographer David Slater owns a photo snapped by a macaque monkey. As entertaining as that story is, there are more practical and far-reaching consequences for businesses that arise out the Copyright Office's overhaul of its standards and practices.
Features
Security Interests in Energy Conservation and Performance Leases and Loans
How important is a Section 30 approval to lenders participating in Energy Conservation Contract or Energy Performance Contract lending to Housing Authorities ("HA")?
Features
Going Digital ' With Signatures
When was the last time you had to sign a document or collect signatures as part of a larger business process? Or wait on someone else for a signature? Did you opt for the old-fashioned "wet signature" or the new-fashion electronic version?
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand OwnersBlockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.Read More ›
- Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About ItWhy is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?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 ›
- 'Insurable Interest' and the Scope of First-Party CoverageThis article reviews the fundamental underpinnings of the concept of insurable interest, and certain recent cases that have grappled with the scope of insurable interest and have articulated a more meaningful application of the concept to claims under first-party property policies.Read More ›
- Ex Parte Trademark Appeals to District Court — Lessons Learned from the Front LinesAlthough pursuit of an appeal to the Federal Circuit may under some circumstances prove to be quicker and less expensive, appeals to district courts are becoming increasingly attractive given recent changes in the law and USPTO practice in defending these actions.Read More ›