Features
1992 Agreement Bars Recapture of Superman Copyrights
In a decision that helps pave the way for Warner Brothers Entertainment and its DC Comics subsidiary to maintain their grip on the Superman franchise, District Judge Otis Wright II of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected a bid by the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster to reclaim partial control over the iconic superhero.
Features
Parameters of Court Jurisdiction In Entertainment Litigations
The question of whether a court has personal jurisdiction over the parties in a particular lawsuit is fundamental and often raised. The national scope of the entertainment industry ' from artist concert touring to the interstate distribution of music, motion picture, TV and other creative content ' certainly makes personal jurisdiction a common issue in entertainment litigations. This article examines several recent court rulings as examples of how judges today are determining whether personal jurisdiction exists in entertainment cases.
News Briefs
All the latest news in the franchising practice area.
Facebook Submits New Settlement Proposal for 'Sponsored Stories' Lawsuit
Lawyers for Facebook Inc. are trying again to settle a suit related to its "Sponsored Stories" advertising feature after a federal judge rejected an earlier proposal.
Implementing U.S. and International Social Networking Regulations
This article summarizes the recent U.S. legislation regarding applicant privacy and the NLRB's social networking and employment policy guidelines. It also analyzes the state of social media and employment law in the EU, particularly France, the United Kingdom and Argentina as examples of law developing outside of the United States. Finally, this article provides recommendations for employers faced with complying with new laws governing the use of social media.
Cybersecurity Law Firms Needed to Combat Terrorism Threat
The next mass terrorism attack may not involve planes, trains or buildings. It very well may involve cyberspace and could be felt by Americans when their lights, computers or smart phones go on the fritz as networks are compromised.
Features
Pinning Your Company's Hopes on Pinterest
Heralded as the next big thing in social media, Pinterest presents new legal risks for companies engaged in social media marketing. By sharing images and encouraging others to re-pin them, Pinterest users may inadvertently engage in copyright or trademark infringement, violate licensing agreements, or run afoul of FTC rules for commercial endorsements.
Policing Trademark Rights and the Problem Posed By Bullying
Finding an effective middle ground between overly enthusiastic and overly lenient enforcement policies is essential to the development of an effective trademark policing strategy.
Benesch Law Migrates from Sharepoint to HighQ Collaborate
We not only needed technology that was completely collaborative, but was also easy to use and maintain for the entire firm. We needed a system that had a great user experience and one that would provide a seamless transition so we could continue catering to our clients' needs.
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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 ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.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 ›