A Busy Year In The Courts For Internet Communications
December 27, 2004
Case law in 2004 in the area of Internet communications has something in common with the hurricane season that recently ended: It has been an unusually active year.
High Court Appears Open To Ending Interstate Wine Sale Barriers
December 27, 2004
The Supreme Court late last year appeared hostile toward state barriers that impede interstate wine sales, likely foreshadowing a win for small wineries in their long battle against the system that controls sales of alcoholic beverages nationwide.
AOL Online Safety Study Shows Major Threats, Perception Gap
December 27, 2004
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a not-for-profit, public-private partnership focused on driving awareness and promoting education of cyber security, and NCSA member America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, recently released the results of one of the largest and most comprehensive in-home studies ever conducted on the security of computer users.
Trademark Enforcement Goes Cyber: Internet Options For IP Attorneys
December 27, 2004
The growing importance of the Internet as an advertising and distribution medium has dramatically increased the globalization of trademark problems. That fine cafe you enjoyed in Portofino last summer can now post a Web site to promote its specialty products to customers in Pasadena virtually overnight. <br>Our legal system, built on precedent, understandably lags behind these economic and technological forces. Nevertheless, the legal response to globalization in recent years has been quietly dramatic. Two recent cases suggest new options for business and intellectual property counsel seeking to enforce and protect their clients' rights.
NLRB Overrules M.B. Sturgis
December 27, 2004
An important representation issue under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) involves scenarios where the scope of a bargaining unit is proposed to include both an employer's regular workers and employees supplied by a separate employer, such as a staffing agency. Just over 4 years ago in <i>M. B. Sturgis</i>, 331 NLRB 1298 (2000), the Board stated that "a growing number of employees who are part of what is commonly described as the 'contingent work force' are being effectively denied representational rights guaranteed them under the National Labor Relations Act." Therefore, the Board majority in <i>Sturgis</i> -- consisting of Chairman Truesdale and Members Fox and Liebman -- overruled prior precedent in <i>Lee Hospital</i>, 300 NLRB 947 (1990) and <i>Greenhoot, Inc.</i>, 205 NLRB 250 (1973), and held that a bargaining unit could include both regular and supplied employees without the consent of both the regular employer and the supplier employer.
National Litigation Hotline
December 27, 2004
National rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Decision of Note: <b>Suit Over Photos Of Blues Legend Will Go To Trial</b>
December 27, 2004
The Supreme Court of Mississippi ruled that the heirs of the half-sister of blues musician Robert Johnson may proceed with their suit for ownership of the only two photographs of the legendary artist.
Courthouse Steps
December 27, 2004
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
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