Features
Discovery in Arbitration Proceedings
This article marks the debut of an occasional column that will provide franchise attorneys with practical advice about conducting arbitrations.
3-D Printing: Strategies to Anticipate the Next Disruptive Technology
One could be forgiven for believing that 3-D printing ' essentially the ability to design and "print" three-dimensional objects ' remains either in the scope of far-fetched science fiction, or out of reach for the masses on account of being hopelessly expensive and complicated. Both of those assumptions, however, are wrong.
Features
Franchised Employees Might Be Employees of Franchisor
In a troubling development for franchisors, a Missouri federal district court has conditionally certified a class of plaintiffs in a collective action brought against Hotshots Sports Bar & Grill under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Missouri's wage and hour laws. The ruling in <i>White v. 14051 Manchester, Inc.</i> is concerning because it holds, at least preliminarily, that employees of independently owned franchises may be considered employees of the franchisor under the FLSA, based on a common form of control exercised in most franchisor-franchisee relationships.
Features
Franchisee Bankruptcies and Receiverships: What You Don't Know Might Surprise You
Franchisors do not want to be associated with insolvent or bankrupt franchisees; it's not good for the brand. Therefore, franchisors carefully craft provisions in franchise agreements designed to allow termination in the event of a franchisee's bankruptcy or the appointment of a receiver as a result of a foreclosure action, typically initiated by the franchisee's lender
Columns & Departments
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property cases from around the country.
Features
The Role of Supplemental Examination
Considering the provisions of supplemental examination and its contrasts with <i>ex parte</i> re-examination can help practitioners decide whether supplemental examination may benefit a particular patent.
Features
Cybersecurity Report Spotlights Risks to U.S. Business from China
Mandiant, a Virginia-based cybersecurity firm, gave America a wake-up slap across the face last month by detailing how Chinese military hackers are infiltrating U.S. companies. And on Feb. 20, President Barack Obama's administration responded by announcing a broad plan to fight the cyber theft of trade secrets that included diplomatic pressure to discourage it.
Columns & Departments
Decisions of Interest
Several key rulings are discussedl
Features
Lawyers at Parent Psychiatric Evaluations
The trial court in <i>M.A.M. v. M.R.M.</i>, found it prudent to bar an attorney from sitting in while his client was examined in conjunction with a child custody case. We continue our discussion of the rationales behind this decision herein.
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
- Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTsA federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.Read More ›
- Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the RoughThere is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.Read More ›
- Compliance Officers and Law Enforcement: Friends or Foes?<b><i>Part Two of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p>As we saw in Part One, regulators have recently shown a tendency to focus on compliance officers who they deem to have failed to ensure that the compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) programs that they oversee adequately prevented corporate wrongdoing, and there are several indications that regulators will continue to target compliance officers in 2018 in actions focused on Bank Secrecy Act/AML compliance.Read More ›
- Removing Restrictive Covenants In New YorkIn Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?Read More ›
- Artist Challenges Copyright Office Refusal to Register Award-Winning AI-Assisted WorkCopyright law has long struggled to keep pace with advances in technology, and the debate around the copyrightability of AI-assisted works is no exception. At issue is the human authorship requirement: the principle that a work must have a human author to be eligible for copyright protection. While the Copyright Office has previously cited this "bedrock requirement of copyright" to reject registrations, recent decisions have focused on the role of human authorship in the context of AI.Read More ›