The Equipment ABS Market
This article: 1) as a matter of background, discusses the basic economics of a TALF loan backed by equipment ABS and provides a general overview of the collateral eligibility requirements of TALF relating to equipment ABS, and 2) discusses the key hurdle (i.e., achieving a AAA rating) prospective issuers have encountered, and will likely continue to encounter in the near term under the existing paradigm, in their attempts to structure and execute equipment ABS in the current market.
Enforceable Browse-Wrap Contracts
Doing business over the Internet is increasingly automated. In the past, Web sites used "terms of use" agreements which include an Internet mechanism to affirm consent to be bound by the agreement (click-wrap). Increasingly, browse-wrap agreements are replacing click-wrap agreements.
Music Site Ruled Not 'Interactive' Enough
A Webcasting service that provides users with individualized Internet radio stations is not required to pay licensing fees to copyright holders of the songs the service plays, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Immunity for Web Site Owners
Web sites, social networks and other interactive service providers facilitate the display and exchange of a staggering amount of user-generated information, much of it idle chatter, meaningful commentary and helpful information, though some of it defamatory and offensive speech. Without certain protections, a site owner could face liability, and such a threat conceivably would have a chilling effect on the vibrant exchange of ideas on the Web.
The PPC Trademark Battle Continues
The Second Circuit's recent decision in <i>Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc.</i> is but one more step in a long-standing battle that's likely to continue for some time; it's been five years already, and the court merely ruled on a technicality that allows the case to run longer still. Most Google users and advertisers are blissfully unaware of what's going on, and even many involved in Internet commerce don't understand the implications.
Bit Parts
Anti-SLAPP Motion over Paris Hilton Suit Is Denied<br>DVD Kiosks Company's Anti-Trust Claim Against Universal Moves Forward<br>Song Suit over Movies Dismissed For Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
Cameo Clips
CLAIMS OVER PHOTOS, PERFORMANCE IN DVD<br>COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/SAMPLED RECORDING
The General Growth Properties Bankruptcy and the Future of Securitizations
Do the recent rulings in the General Growth Properties bankruptcy spell doom for equipment debt securitizations? Not necessarily so, according to the recent rulings of Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper in the $27 billion General Growth Properties Chapter 11 bankruptcy — at least with respect to the issue of substantive consolidation.
Third Circuit Upholds Online Gambling Ban
Internet gambling proponents suffered a major setback when a federal appeals court refused to strike down a 2006 law in which Congress banned all Internet gambling transactions that would be illegal in the gambler's state.
Copyright Claims Dismissed over Seinfeld Cookbook
Missy Chase Lapine, author of <i>The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals</i>, has come up empty in her claims against Jerry Seinfeld and his wife, Jessica. Lapine had sued Jessica, author of the book <i>Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food</i>, for copyright and trademark infringement. But Manhattan federal district court Judge Laura Swain threw those claims out, finding that there were sufficient differences between the two books.
