Representing Clients with Gambling Debts to Casinos
January 29, 2010
As a young associate at McManis Faulkner & Morgan, Eric Sidebotham was put in charge of a $4-$6 million gaming dispute between a Silicon Valley executive and a New Jersey casino. Little did he know then that the negotiation skills and casino-related expert witness contacts he picked up at McManis Faulkner would help keep his own two-lawyer firm afloat through one of the deepest recessions in recent memory.
NY Appellate Court Dismisses <i>Star Trek</i> Memorabilia Suit
January 29, 2010
A <i>Star Trek</i> fan who claims he was humiliated after spending more than $24,000 on fake props at a Christie's auction has had his $7 million suit against the auction house zapped by the New York Appellate Division, 1st Department.
Examining 'Harmless Errors' Provision For Copyright Termination Notices
January 29, 2010
Part One of this article, last month, introduced the dispute between the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and Warner Bros. and discussed the "harmless errors" clause itself. Part Two discusses the Register of Copyrights' regulations and delves into the Siegel heirs and Warner Bros. Entertainment arguments, as well as related court rulings
Personal Jurisdiction Determined in Suit for Legal Services
January 29, 2010
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California determined, in a case transferred to it from a New York federal court, that the New York court properly exercised jurisdiction over California defendants, who had hired the plaintiff, a New York lawyer, for entertainment matters.
The New Realities of Financing Film Productions
January 29, 2010
Reduced sales of DVDs and increased piracy of filmed entertainment are affecting the profits of studios and other financiers of motion pictures. To lessen this impact, changes are being made in deal terms offered to creative talent ' such as actors and creative producers ' and new relationships are emerging among such talent, financiers and distributors of theatrical motion pictures.
Registering Marks As Top-Level Domain Names
January 28, 2010
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") plans to issue generic top-level domain names ("gTLDs") beyond the current 21 top-level domain names ("TLDs") such as .com and .net. For the first time, trademark owners may use their marks as gTLDs; for example, .nike. The application process is complex, and trademark owners have no guarantee that they will secure gTLDs for their marks. e-Commerce providers, however, can use trademark-law strategy to gain advantages during the application process.
Protection of Underage Internet Users Has an Impact on e-Commerce
January 28, 2010
For the most part, courts do not allow either technological or statutory limitations on speech, but they do allow such limitations on electronic commerce, which causes, at the least, more steps to complete a transaction online to meet compliance requirements.
e-Getting Your Back
January 28, 2010
Science tells us that most of an iceberg is hidden beneath the surface of the ocean. e-Commerce law tells us the same thing about Web-site development: The "Web front" that shoppers see can be dwarfed by the hidden, or invisible, "back office" ' the contracts, negotiations and software that make e-commerce Web sites possible. Yet it is that back office that can be the difference between a profitable site and one, like a true iceberg, that is merely adrift and fraught with potential hazards.
Case Briefs
January 28, 2010
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
