Supreme Court Ruling for eBay a Major Victory for Big Patent Holders
May 31, 2006
A Supreme Court ruling on May 15 in favor of eBay Inc. in a closely watched patent dispute made it harder for those claiming infringement to win permanent injunctions against major patent holders and manufacturers.<br>The unanimous decision was a major win for eBay and other big patent holders that frequently face crippling litigation from parties that get injunctions to protect one of thousands of patents used in a complex product.
Downhill Ride for Right of Publicity
May 31, 2006
The right of publicity ' the right of individuals to protect the commercial uses of their names and images ' is now a familiar concept. Given the recently reported $50 million purchase of rights to Muhammad Ali's name or the $100 million acquisition of Elvis Presley's publicity rights (hardly for a song), there can be no question that the right not only can have great value, but has achieved a certain settled status. And yet, the metes and bounds of the right remain elusive at best.
Does Bankruptcy Absolve Patent Infringement Liability?
May 31, 2006
Your client spends considerable time, money, and energy pursuing an individual who is infringing his patent. Just when your client is about to have his day in court, the culprit files a petition for bankruptcy, triggering the automatic stay and stopping the infringement action in its tracks. Has the infringer escaped liability for his infringement, particularly when the bankruptcy court grants him a discharge? Not necessarily.
Admissibility of Settlement Communications in Patent Infringement Rule 11 Proceedings
May 31, 2006
Plaintiffs bringing patent infringement cases should ensure that they have made an adequate pre-filing inquiry as to the viability of their claims before initiating litigation. Without such an investigation, plaintiffs and their attorneys risk sanctions under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In the sanctions context, Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence does not protect settlement communications from admissibility.
Personal Injury Coverage: A Historical Perspective: The Duty to Defend False, Fraudulent, and Frivolous Claims
May 30, 2006
During recent years, personal and advertising injury coverage has been the subject of many court decisions. Often those decisions have involved questions of coverage for copyright infringement under the 'advertising injury' prong of the coverage. However, there has been a wide range of cases involving issues under the 'personal injury' prong of the coverage. In many of these cases, courts have focused on the current wording of the language, without reference to the historical background of the personal injury provisions. That background demonstrates the breadth of the coverage.
FDA's New Labeling Rule
May 30, 2006
On Jan. 18, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule to revise the required format of prescription drug labels so as to enable physicians to find the information they need more readily. New features include a section called 'Highlights' and a Table of Contents. According to the FDA's press release, this is the first time in 25 years that the labeling requirements have undergone a major revision.
Derivative Suits: Recent Developments
May 30, 2006
Numerous studies and articles document the alarming increase during the last few years in the size of settlements in securities class action lawsuits. As a result, directors, officers, insurers, brokers, and others focus almost exclusively on securities class actions when evaluating risks and structuring D&O insurance programs. Although largely ignored in that analysis, shareholder derivative lawsuits are also very important liability exposures particularly for directors since directors are named as defendants in derivative suits far more frequently than in securities class actions and since settlements and judgments in derivative suits are usually not indemnifiable by the company.
Ad Hoc Affirmative Action
May 30, 2006
Unfortunately, attempting to achieve the worthy goal of increasing workplace diversity through ad hoc decisions that advance women or minorities, often made in the absence of, or without strict adherence to, a formal affirmative action plan, can spawn claims of illegal reverse discrimination. Such claims appear to be on the rise.
The Tarnished Parachute
May 30, 2006
As American companies struggle to compete in a global market, they are increasingly considering the merits of eliminating or reducing costly retiree benefits. For many companies, the costs of these benefits have become staggering. For example, before recently announcing plans to freeze health benefits for tens of thousands of its white-collar retirees, Ford Motor Co. was facing health-care expenses of more than $3.5 billion. Its rival, General Motors, which according to recent reports owes a projected $89 billion in welfare and pension benefits to its current and future retirees, just announced that it will offer workers with 10 years' experience a payment of $140,000 and a pension, if in return these workers will leave their employment and forgo health care benefits.
Employee Handbooks
May 30, 2006
Employee handbooks can be an essential tool for communicating company policies and procedures to employees of any type of enterprise.
