Features
<i><b>Online Extra</b></i> Congress Hears Pleas for Stronger Copyright Protections
Donning special glasses, members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet viewed a 3-D video clip as part of a hearing that featured music, photo, and movie industry representatives, all touting the economic benefits of strong copyrights. Leaders from the Copyright Alliance, Getty Images Inc., the American Society of Media Photographers, Yep Roc Records and Redeye Distribution Inc., and 3-D moviemaker Stereo D LLC said robust copyright protections are vital'
Features
Lease Accounting Project
The FASB and IASB issued the second Exposure Draft ("ED") of the proposed new leasing rules on May 16, 2013 with a deadline for comments of Sept. 13, 2013. The ED is an improvement over the 2010 ED in that it is closer to current GAAP in areas such as the definition of the lease term and lease payments.
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From the IFA's Legal Symposium
In the last several years, private investment groups and wealthy, experienced business owners have showed increased interest in purchasing franchisees. At the same time, food and retail franchisors have moved more deeply into developing units at nontraditional locations. These twin developments have been, for the most part, highly positive for the franchising industry. However, both trends have raised one major challenge for franchisors: negotiating contract terms that deviate from their standard FDD.
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<i>Biosig Instruments, Inc. v. Nautilus, Inc.</i>
In <i>Biosig Instruments, Inc. v. Nautilus, Inc.</i>, the Federal Circuit held that the functional claim language of "spaced relationship" was definite in view of the inherent parameters of the claimed apparatus, notwithstanding the lack of any specific quantification of exactly how wide the spacing should be.
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Interoperability Exemptions Under The DMCA
The DMCA prohibits the circumvention of digital rights management technologies and other similar content access or copy restrictions on copyrighted works. As such, it has long been understood that the circumvention of computer programs to enable interoperability of non-approved software applications ' a practice commonly referred to as "jailbreaking" ' was forbidden under the DMCA.
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The Great Internet Land Rush
This articlelooks at the implications of the new gTLD program for attorneys and the Internet as a whole.
<i><b>BREAKING NEWS</i></b> U.S. Supreme Court Rules DOMA Unconstitutional
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment.
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The Jackson Reforms
UK Lord Justice Jackson's case management and litigation cost reforms are the most earth-shattering developments in recent UK civil procedure history, with serious ramifications that extend across the pond to U.S. companies.
Features
Does the SEC Still Care About Financial Reporting Cases?
In recent years, the SEC has brought far fewer revenue recognition and other financial reporting cases than it had historically. That leads us naturally to wonder whether this trend will continue in the future. Not likely.
Features
Due Diligence Considerations in M&A Deals in Entertainment, Sports and Media Industries
For entertainment, sports and media (ESM) industries bidders ' and their counsel ' contemplating a merger-and-acquisition deal, last year's Delaware Supreme Court decision in <i>RAA Management LLC v. Savage Sport Holdings Inc.</i> highlighted the importance of assessing risk early in the due diligence process.
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