Features
Devices, Tablets and Breaking Traditions
The Internet has changed immensely since its creation. What was once only accessible through a dial-up modem on a large desktop computer is now available wirelessly with the touch of a finger. Smartphones, tablets, e-readers and gaming systems have all entered the mix as the next generation of computers, and they have transformed our online experiences in a multitude of ways. As the number of mobile Internet-connected devices continues to increase, so will the traffic they generate to law firm websites.
Like It or Not, Online Preferences Are Not Protected Speech
Does the First Amendment protect what you "like" on Facebook? Obviously, Facebook, with its vested interest in shielding all forms of user expression, would argue it does. But now it is not alone in that belief.
Features
The Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court in a Nutshell
On Dec. 11, 2012, European Union Ministers in charge of competitiveness issues endorsed a legal package to create a Unitary Patent, which provides uniform legal protection in 25 European countries. On the same day, the Members of the European Parliament approved the European Union patent package including a Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court.
Understanding Social Media Evidence
You don't need to devote hours every day to posting tweets and commenting on Facebook. But to get a better understanding of how social media works, you should spend some amount of time creating a Facebook page, Twitter account and LinkedIn connections and learn to communicate via text messaging as well as use whatever other Web tools your clients use.
Features
Factors in Assessing Statutory Damages for Digital Copyright Infringement
A recent federal district court award of $6.6 million in statutory damages to music publishers for the unlicensed use of song lyrics by the website LiveUniverse and its operator was hailed as the first of its type for owners of song lyrics, and thus a significant milestone for content owners in the digital era.
Features
Bit Parts
Copyright Ownership Issue Properly Sent to Jury<br>1981 Merchandising Royalties Underpayment Claim Can Proceed<br>Replacement Rollers Members' Breach Claim Is Dismissed
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Warner Bros. Wins Copyright Battle over Superman
O'Melveny & Myers scored a big win for Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc. in January 2013 in the company's ugly copyright battle with the heirs to the creators of Superman. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that the heirs of now-deceased Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel signed away their rights to the Man of Steel in a 2001 agreement with Warner Brothers.
Evolving Court Views on Requests for ISP User Identities
When copyright suits are instituted over file-sharing infringements that take place over the Internet, the copyright owner may not know much about who the infringers are. Even in the best case, a plaintiff is unlikely to start with much more than an Internet Protocol (IP) address ' the number that identifies a computer or group of computers that may have been used to download or share all or part of an infringing file.
Features
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 ›