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Upcoming Events
SXSW Music and Media Conference and Festival 2005 CLE Program, sponsored by SXSW. In Austin, TX, March 18-19. Will cover music law year in review, live performance and touring issues, alternative digital deals, artist career co-ventures, structuring agreements in the music industry and legal ethics in the digital age. For further information: 512-467-7979 or www.sxsw.com. …
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
The Uncertainties of the 'Unopened' Easement
Although New York courts have long-recognized that "an easement created by grant may be extinguished by adverse possession" (<i>See Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. v. Thomas Memorial Wesleyan Methodist Church</i>, 10 A.D.3d 572 (1st Dep't 2004); <i>Spiegel v. Ferraro</i>, 73 N.Y.2d 622, 625 (1989); <i>Gerbig v. Zumpano</i>, 7 N.Y.2d 327 (1960)), a different rule has been applied to "unopened" easements -- <i>ie</i>, easements that have been created by grant but have remained unused. Generally, a possession will not be deemed adverse to an unopened easement or right of way until three conditions have been satisfied. These conditions are: 1) the need by the easement holder for the right of way has arisen; 2) a demand has been made by the easement holder that the right of way be opened; and 3) the servient tenant (property owner) has refused the demand. <i>Castle Associates v. Schwartz</i>, 63 A.D.2d 481 (2d Dep't 1978).
Index
Everything that's contained in this issue, in one easy list.
Cooperatives & Condominiums
Recent cases of importance to you and your practice.
Landlord & Tenant
Recent rulings you need to know.
Development
All the latest cases for your review.
Real Property Law
The latest rulings.
Bush Plan for Electronic Record System Gains Momentum
In April 2004, President Bush called for development of a nationwide electronic health records system that would include most Americans' health data within 10 years. He took some steps then to get the ball rolling, but funding for the program was cut in November as part of a plan to balance the federal budget. However, in the first months of 2005, Bush renewed his push for reforms, which he asserts will cut health care costs and reduce medical errors.
Verdicts
Recent rulings of importance.

MOST POPULAR STORIES

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    Many times, courts are faced with the question of whether a loss location is 'vacant' under a commercial property policy when trying to determine if the building owner or lessee is conducting customary operations. This article explores various decisions across the United States as to what is considered 'customary operations,' thereby rendering the property 'vacant.'
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  • Reining in the Inequitable Conduct Defense
    Responding to views from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere about the unintended consequences of the current inequitable conduct doctrine, a divided <i>en banc</i> Federal Circuit decision issued on May 25, 2011 adjusted the standard of the materiality element to make this defense harder to establish.
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    The United States Copyright Office recently issued a letter ruling on the copyrightability of Kristina Kashtanova's comic book-like work, Zarya of the Dawn. The Kashtanova ruling indicates that the Copyright Office's determination of copyrightability of works involving use of AI will rely on whether the author is able to control and foresee with some measure of predictability the output of the authorial process
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