Features
The NLRB's Assault On Companies' Social Media Policies
This article discusses the NLRB's views on social media policies, through two recent NLRB decisions, and the eyes of the NLRB's General Counsel and its Administrative Law Judges.
Features
Display in Musical of Clip from 'Ed Sullivan' Show Was Fair Use
In <i>SOFA Entertainment, Inc. v. Dodger Productions, Inc.</i>, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered whether it was "fair use" under the Copyright Act for the award-winning musical "<i>Jersey Boys</i>" to use a seven-second clip of Ed Sullivan's introduction of the Four Seasons rock band on "<i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i>" that aired in 1966.
Features
Google Pays $7 Million to Settle Privacy Breach
A settlement was announced in charges against Google Inc. for collecting data from people's homes. Under the agreement, Google will pay $7 million to 38 states. The terms of the settlement were announced by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, whose office led a privacy task force investigating Google for unauthorized collection of data using its 'Street View' vehicles. The company agreed to change its corporate practices regarding privacy.
Features
Obviousness-Type Double Patenting Can Apply Without Common Ownership
In <i>In re Hubbell</i>, the Federal Circuit held that obviousness-type double patenting applies when conflicting patent applications share common inventors, even if they lack common ownership. That is, complete identity of inventors or common ownership is not required for the Patent Office to impose an obviousness-type double patenting rejection.
Federal Regulators Issue Guidance on Social Media and Mobile Privacy
In a sign of the role new technology is playing in existing business models, two federal regulators recently released guidance covering two rapidly expanding technology markets: social media and mobile technology.
Features
Practice Tip: Protecting Your Verdict
This article focuses on some of the challenges presented by the rise of technology and social media, and describes some measures for avoiding the most prevalent forms of juror misconduct.
Features
George Clinton Battles Law Firm over Copyrights
In Nov. 2012, Seattle U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik had ruled that 'Godfather of Funk' George Clinton must cede the copyrights to the master recordings of four Fundadelic albums released by Warner Bros. between 1976 and 1981 to Seattle-based Hendricks & Lewis to make good on more than $1.5 million in unpaid legal fees.
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Journey Across the Pond
This article focuses on the conflict between U.S. and EU discovery procedures, and offers some useful and practical advice for U.S. litigants who may face uncertain territory when seeking discovery abroad.
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- 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 ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.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 ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›
- What Does 2024 Hold for Cybersecurity?Our annual poll of experts on the trends and developments to watch out for in 2024 in AI, data privacy, cybersecurity, e-discovery and more.Read More ›