Wyeth v. Levine
October 30, 2008
One of the great dramas playing in the theater of American jurisprudence is the epic struggle that roils pharmaceutical labeling. Simply put, the labeling issue confronting the Supreme Court this term is: Who decides the adequacy of drug labeling ' the FDA or a jury of plaintiff's peers?
Ethical Issues of the 21st Century
October 30, 2008
In Part One of this article, the authors covered ethical issues relating to e-mail. In Part Two below, they discuss ethical issues related to e-discovery and social networking and blogs.
Leadership Development Programs
October 30, 2008
Leadership competencies are critical for lawyers on many fronts. While leadership is not taught in law school, many firms have begun to implement formal leadership development programs. Here's how to do it.
Should Your Partnership Agreement Require Mandatory, Binding Arbitration?
October 30, 2008
Many partner disputes are resolved informally through discussions with firm management. However, many firms do not have a formal internal grievance procedure for partnership-related matters. What happens when the dispute cannot be amicably resolved? Is litigation the sole solution?
A Discussion on Partner Capital
October 29, 2008
In a July issue of The National Law Journal, there was a lead article titled, "Firms Ask Partners to Pony Up." That article sparked questions from clients of our firm, Altman Weil, Inc., regarding law firm capital structures. This article pulls together a number of the issues we have been dealing with recently.
Bit Parts
October 29, 2008
Book Publishing/Personal Jurisdiction<br>Copyrights/Wills and Estates<br>Film Tax Shelters/Disclosures to Investor
Cameo Clips
October 29, 2008
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/BANKRUPTCY DISCHARGE<br>COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/TV SHOW TREATMENT<br>COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/VENUE TRANSFER
License to Merge: Precautions for Preserving IP License Rights
October 29, 2008
Despite a long history of case law relating to mergers, one area remains unclear, especially in the entertainment industry: the effect of mergers on intellectual property licensing agreements. Recent case law contributes to this uncertainty and suggests that certain precautions may be necessary to preserve valuable IP licensing rights. Importantly, entertainment companies should anticipate these issues from the outset and careful consideration should be given when first negotiating a license agreement.
<i>Veoh</i> Ruling: Protecting Service Providers or Is It a Trap Door?
October 29, 2008
The recent ruling in <i>Io Group Inc. v. Veoh Networks Inc.</i> has been widely heralded as a win for online service providers in the legal maelstrom surrounding social media. Veoh is an Internet TV platform similar to YouTube that hosts user uploaded content. When clips from adult movies owned by Io Group appeared on Veoh's network, Io brought a copyright infringement suit, rather than issuing DMCA notices to Veoh requesting that its content be removed. Io lost its case.