Features
Can Law Firms Be Lean?
For those who have had some exposure to <i>Total Quality Management</i>, the reference to <i>Lean</i> or <i>Lean Six Sigma</i> might be familiar. Total Quality Management (TQM), famed for advancing Japanese firms to remarkable achievement in product quality, was also pursued in the service industry.
Features
Establishing Copyright Damages When Party Moves for Summary Judgment
Section 504(b) of the Copyright Act allows a copyright owner to obtain both the owner's actual damages as well as an infringer's profits attributable to the infringed work that weren't included in the actual damages award. What are the burdens of proof when a copyright infringement plaintiff seeks this recovery after a pre-trial summary judgment motion has been filed? How does an expert's report work into this?
California Tightens Privacy Protection
Recently, the California legislature passed three laws that significantly alter the privacy landscape and impose a new set of responsibilities that arguably apply to any company doing business in the state.
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Expanding Defenses To Inducing Infringement
On Oct. 25, 2013, the Federal Circuit, by a vote of six-to-five, denied rehearing <i>en banc</i> in <i>Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Sys., Inc.,</i> (<i>Commil II</i>). That decision left intact the panel's holding, in a case of first impression, that an alleged indirect infringer's "good-faith belief of invalidity may negate the requisite intent for induced infringement."
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Checking in on the New gTLD Objection Processes
ICANN has been busy reviewing applications for new generic top-level domain name registries (new gTLDs), and the first four new gTLDs were delegated to the Root Zone on Oct. 23, 2013.
Features
Avoiding False-Marking Claims with Global Brands
For about a week last month, my Internet browser thought I was in Canada. And, like a friend who returns with an accent after a week-long vacation in London, this was more a source of curiosity than frustration. I first realized the quirk upon a visit to Google. Instead of finding myself at the familiar .com, I was redirected to a .ca site. With 's and 's littered across the page, the intellectual property nerd in me was buzzing. How was I to interpret these symbols?
Evidentiary Requirements To Recover Lost Future Royalties
When franchisors enter into long-term franchise agreements, they expect to receive a steady stream of royalties for the duration of the agreement. However, if the relationship sours and the agreement is terminated prior to expiration, the franchisor faces the prospect of losing the anticipated stream of royalties for the remaining term of the agreement. More and more often, franchisors are turning to the courts to attempt to recover those lost future royalties.
Features
DJ Dropped from Dispute Over Use of Beastie Boys Music
After the Beastie Boys sued over the unlicensed use of several of the rap group's tracks in a remix on the soundtrack to a promotional video, defendant energy-drink maker Monster Energy Co. tried to shift the blame onto an unsuspecting disc jockey. That tactic didn't sit well with Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who dismissed the DJ from the litigation.
Features
SEC Proposes Much-Anticipated Crowdfunding Rules
On Oct. 23, the SEC finally proposed rules to implement the crowdfunding provisions of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012.
Features
Protecting Digital Database Content
The Fourth Circuit's ruling in <i>Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. v. American Home Realty Network, Inc.</i> is an important court decision relating to e-commerce and protecting digital database content. The ruling relates to a multiple-listing copyrighted database of real estate listings.
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