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Technology in Marketing: Is Your e-Communication Being Read?
Any way you look at it, e-communication gives you and your firm exposure in an existing or potential client market. Here are the ins and outs.
Dual Franchise Co-Branding: A Cautionary Tale
With the state of the economy, even a strong business like the franchise industry is feeling the proverbial pinch. While still growing and enjoying measures of success, franchisors are dealing with fewer leads and fewer sales of franchises. In such times, franchisors may look to alternative means to increase sales volume while reducing expenses. One alternative franchisors may begin to consider is co-branding.
Revisiting MLF 2008: What You Missed!
Last month, Marketing The Law Firm took a look back at 2008 with pared-down versions of one article each from our January to June issues. In this issue, we continue to look back at 2008 with articles from the July to December issues.
It's Going to Be a Green Year
Clean energy is a top priority for the Obama administration and the new Congress. The President's campaign pledges and post-election comments posit clean energy as a key element for advancing the nation's economic recovery, fostering energy independence, addressing climate change, and reinvigorating American leadership in innovation and manufacturing.
Renewable Energy Leasing Opportunities
Lately there has been increased interest in the use of sale-leasebacks as a financing mechanism for solar projects. While most of the activity to date has involved solar projects, there is no reason that sale-leasebacks could not be used to finance other types of renewable energy or other energy projects eligible for investment tax credits under Section 48, such as fuel cells, geothermal or certain combined heat and power facilities, as well as integrated gasification combined cycle and other advanced coal-based generation projects under Section 48A or gasification projects under Section 48B.
Online Travel Companies Avoid Local Taxes
For the first time, a federal appellate court has held that online travel companies cannot be compelled to collect and pay local "bed" taxes on the rooms they sell to consumers. Similar disputes nationwide have been percolating through federal and state courts challenging the application of occupancy tax laws, written before online travel booking took off. The various suits sought payments from online firms.
Curbing Internet Defamation
An identifiable Internet speaker who sends an unlawful e-mail or posts an unlawful Internet message is subject to traditional litigation tactics. However, countless Internet speakers are not effortlessly identifiable. Hence, novel technical, administrative law and litigation tactics are advantageous for successfully curbing Internet defamation.
What's in a Domain Name? The Changing Internet
Generic, top-level domain names (gTLDs), such as .com or .net, are the sorters of the Internet. They serve the single purpose of identifying the database in which a domain name is registered. Last June, ICANN reversed its long-held position and announced that it would allow an unlimited number of generic top-level domains.
Online Anti-Porn Law Dies at Supreme Court
A federal law intended to restrict children's access to Internet pornography died quietly last month at the U.S. Supreme Court, more than 10 years after Congress overwhelmingly approved it. The Supreme Court rejected U.S. government prosecutors' last-ditch defense of COPA without comment, meaning that the law will not be enforced.
RIAA Tempers Tactics
In December, the RIAA announced that it would no longer look to file suit against individual file sharers and instead form relationships with ISPs that maintain the online accounts of the consumers.

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    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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