'You're Fired!'
December 27, 2011
A future observer of the reality shows that seem to be the only thing on television today might think that people of the 21st century lived to fire people. But people forced to do the same task in business find no such joy in having to dismiss a business leader, especially when the person being dismissed is the founder of the company ' the visionary who built it from scratch.
Right-of-Publicity Claims and Advertiser Sponsored User-Generated Content Campaigns
December 27, 2011
This article concentrates on the scope of Communications Decency Act(CDA) immunity advertisers that operate user-generated content (UGC) campaigns may enjoy, limitations of the CDA in protecting against these claims and ways to structure UGC campaigns to minimize the risk of liability arising from unauthorized use of individuals' name, likeness and other personal attributes possibly included in UGC submitted as part of a sponsored UGC campaign.
Authentication of Social Media Evidence
December 21, 2011
More and more, parties are attempting to introduce social networking communications into evidence. Beyond other admissibility obstacles, such as hearsay or relevance, a piece of evidence must satisfy Fed. R. Evid. 901 (or the state equivalent), which applies in both civil and criminal proceedings, and mandates that the material offered is "authentic," or what the proponent claims it to be.
The Allocated Share Set-Off Rule: New York Enters the Debate
December 21, 2011
Until recently, New York courts — the venue for much of the seminal insurance law developed in the United States — had not directly weighed in on the allocated share set-off rule. Recently, however, a New York trial judge issued a partial summary judgment decision that expressly adopted the rule in the context of long-tail asbestos claims.
IP News
December 21, 2011
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Robert Bosch LLC v. Pylon Mfg. Corp.
December 21, 2011
<i>Robert Bosch LLC v. Pylon Mfg. Corp.</i>, is an important decision that abolishes the presumption of irreparable harm in the context of injunctive relief for patent infringement. The case is also important because the Federal Circuit instructs that courts must still consider "the fundamental nature of patents as property rights granting the owner the right to exclude" when determining whether to issue an injunction.
Can We Talk?
December 21, 2011
A newly expanded Patent Office program makes it easier to talk to the examiner prior to initial examination. The heart of the program is an "Examiner Interview" that takes place before the examiner issues a first official action, which allows the examiner and patent applicant to discuss the application, identify allowable patent claims, and shave months or years off of the time from filing of an application to receipt of an issued patent.
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