Court Restores $28 Million Punitives Award in HRT Case
February 28, 2012
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has restored the $28 million in punitive damages a Philadelphia jury awarded to an Illinois plaintiff who said drugmakers Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. failed to warn her doctor of the risks of breast cancer from using hormonal drugs. The trial judge had reduced the punitive damages award to $1 million.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Addictions
February 28, 2012
As explained in the introduction last month, this article explores the role of addiction in product liability litigation. Part Two herein explains the medical model of addiction, and addiction in the courtroom.
Golan v. Holder: A Catalyst for Orphan Works Legislation?
February 28, 2012
On Jan. 18, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-to-2 decision in <i>Golan v. Holder</i>, ruling that the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 — which restores U.S. copyright protection for certain foreign works formerly in the public domain — fits within Congress' constitutional authority to "adjust copyright law to protect categories of works once outside the law's compass." <i>Golan</i>, like <i>Eldred v. Ashcroft</i> before it, solidifies the constitutional authority of Congress under the Copyright Clause to control the terms and duration of U.S. copyright protection.
Social Media: The Legal Implications on Franchise Systems
February 28, 2012
Since most consumers today expect social media to be part of the online presence of the retailers and businesses that they frequent, franchisors have to figure out how it fits into their and their franchisees' businesses, and franchise lawyers have to figure out the legal implications of their clients' choices and actions.
Vicarious Liability
February 27, 2012
When is a franchisor's control over a franchisee so great that the franchisor risks being held vicariously liable for the actions of its franchisees?
Drafting Better Commercial General Liability Insurance Requirements
February 27, 2012
A landlord generally does not want to impose obsolete or otherwise nonsensical requirements on its tenant, and a tenant generally does not want to promise to do things that are impossible. But both can regularly be found in lease insurance provisions.
Specialty Recall Insurance Coverage
February 27, 2012
With the cost and frequency of product recalls on the rise, many companies are considering purchasing specialty policies to cover certain recall-related losses that are often excluded from general liability and property policies. Few cases provide guidance about how such policies will be interpreted and applied by the courts, but some recent decisions highlight limitations on their scope of coverage.
Proving Contributory Online Trademark Infringement
February 01, 2012
The ubiquity of the Web on computers, mobile phones and tablets offers businesses the opportunity to connect with consumers throughout the world in ways they never could before. Unfortunately, along with the success of legitimate online commerce, the distribution and sale of counterfeit products through professional-looking websites has also increased dramatically, particularly in the clothing, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical and footwear industries.
Misrepresentation Claim over Song in DVD Is Dismissed
February 01, 2012
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed an unusual "misrepresentation-by-implication" claim brought under the Lanham Act. In the case, the plaintiffs' composition "I Am the Greatest" had been included in the defendants' DVD AND1' Mixtape' X.
UGC Campaigns and Right of Publicity
February 01, 2012
It is rights-of-publicity claims, because they are treated as property rather than as personal rights, and not other types of privacy claims, which are merely personal, that some courts have excluded from Communications Decency Act (CDA) immunity as a form of intellectual property.
