Legal RFP's
April 29, 2011
LEGAL RFP'S - To respond or to not respond; that is the question? [The first in a blog series on Legal RFP's] Shakespeare's classic question focuses debate on a serious leadership challenge for law firm decision makers. It also requires the corporate/agency rfp sponsor to carefully consider the information it should make available to the firms who will be responding. As a business development consultant advising clients on the efficacy of responding to rfp's, let me present…
<i>En Banc</i> Rehearing Demanded on Facebook-ConnectU Settlement
April 28, 2011
When the Ninth Circuit denied Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra's request to have their settlement with Facebook overturned last month, it made headlines, most likely due to the depiction of the legal battle in the Academy Award-nominated film, <i>The Social Network</i>. But despite being told by the court to be happy with the "quite favorable" settlement amount, the attorney leading the fight isn't ready to give up.
'Tangible Property' Defined in the Computer Age
April 28, 2011
With the increasing use of social media for marketing and advertising purposes, businesses of all sizes are seeking insurance coverage for various types of Internet-based exposures. Among others, companies are looking to insure against claims raised by users viewing or otherwise accessing a company's websites and advertisements for damage to hardware, data, information, and other computer components.
Ruling Clarifies <i>Situs</i> of Injury for Online Infringement Claims
April 28, 2011
Declaring that the Internet "plays an important role in the jurisdictional analysis in the specific context of this case," the New York Court of Appeals has ruled that in copyright infringement cases involving the uploading of a copyrighted printed literary work onto the Internet, the situs of injury for purposes of determining long-arm jurisdiction under NY CPLR 302(a)(3)(ii) is the location of the principal place of business of the copyright holder.
The Dangers of Dynamic Keyword Insertion
April 28, 2011
One aspect of PPC advertising in which keywords play a part ' and where such keyword use might be considered trademark infringement ' is the use of keywords within the text of an ad itself. Unfortunately, trademarked keywords sometimes appear in PPC ads automatically, without anyone intentionally selecting them. How is that possible? Through the use of a technique known as dynamic keyword insertion, combined with inexact keyword matching.
Bit Parts
April 28, 2011
Bruce Lee Enterprises Can Proceed with False Endorsement Claim<br>Contributory Infringement Claim over Terminator Is Dismissed<br>Eastern District of New York Illuminates Infringement Test for Reality TV Series
TV Reality Show Arbitration Clause Binds Non-Signing Participant
April 28, 2011
A teen beauty who slapped The Walt Disney Co. with a $100 million suit claiming she had been depicted as a bratty child on the reality TV show <i>Wife Swap</i> will not have her day in court. Alicia Guastaferro was 15 when her mother signed a release and waiver for her TV appearance, during which the daughter made the comment that she felt "sorry for people who aren't as gorgeous as me." Even though Guastaferro did not execute the release, Acting New York County Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla nonetheless held that she was bound by its arbitration clause.
Mixed Summary Judgment Ruling in Ringtones Litigation
April 28, 2011
Record labels have taken a lot of heat for being slow learners when it comes to profiting from Internet-era trends like downloads of mobile ringtones, but the labels haven't been shy in one area: copyright litigation against online purveyors of their artists' music. Musicians, meanwhile, have targeted the labels for allegedly stiffing them on royalties when customers pay for their music online.
Charlie Sheen's Trademark Counsel
April 28, 2011
Wilmington, DE-based Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz has ventured into the world of pop culture through its Los Angeles office. Records on file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that partner Grant T. Langton is helping Charlie Sheen, the former star of the CBS sitcom <i>Two and a Half Men</i>, with a trademark endeavor. Sheen is trying to trademark 22 catchphrases, as well as his name and signature.
Uphill Battle in Infringement Suits Against Studios
April 28, 2011
Two artists suing Dreamworks for copying the Kung Fu Panda character and concept. And while history shows that plaintiffs taking on Hollywood with such claims rarely succeed in court, at least some copyright experts believe that one of these cases may be an exception.
