Legal Presumptions of Consumer Confusion and Injury in Lanham Act Cases
November 30, 2014
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit "clarified certain aspects of [its] false advertising jurisprudence" and held that, where literal falsity and deliberate deception have been proved in a market with only two players, it is appropriate to use legal presumptions of consumer confusion and injury for the purposes of finding liability in a false advertising case brought under the Lanham Act. <i>Merck Eprova AG v. Gnosis S.p.A.</i>
In the Spotlight: Rights of First Offer
November 30, 2014
As the competition to clear vacancies escalates in many office leasing markets, more prospective tenants are able to extract concessions that were once only the province of larger users. This article discusses one of those concessions ' the "right of first offer" or "ROFO."
Real Estate Sale-Leaseback: Making a Comeback
November 30, 2014
With the "Great Recession" coupled with the uncertainty of the announced convergence of U.S. and international accounting standards, some industry analysts predicted that real estate sale-leasebacks would be eliminated from the array of possible corporate fundraising strategies. That possible demise appears to be greatly exaggerated.
Practice Tip: Intelligent Cars
November 30, 2014
Recent technological advances are allowing the car industry to consider a shift away from the need for a driver because of increasingly intelligent and connected vehicles. This article briefly surveys the major legal challenges likely to be faced during this evolution in several key areas
Equity Joint Ventures
November 30, 2014
When a client seeks representation on an equity joint venture, there are eight primary structural considerations that provide the framework for documenting the venture: 1) initial capital contributions; 2) future capital needs; 3) cash distribution waterfall; 4) governance; 5) transfers; 6) exit rights; 7) restrictive covenants; and 8) affiliate transactions.
New Trends for Managing Privilege In e-Discovery
November 30, 2014
As any corporation or law firm will attest, the cost of litigation continues to rise and with it the need to identify efficient solutions while maintaining transparency and defensibility. Document review, specifically, has long burdened litigation budgets; however, recent trends in the acceptance of technology integration and more advanced managed review workflows is taking root in the legal landscape.
Legal Minefields In Using Twitter For Promotions
November 30, 2014
In today's digital era where consumers rely heavily on social media for news and entertainment, it has become increasingly common for entertainment companies to join the conversation on popular platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Marketers have found that authentic and meaningful engagement with consumers on Twitter can have a lasting impact.
IP Outsourcing
November 30, 2014
The growing demand for IP to be at the center of commercial strategy, together with a squeeze on resources and budgets, has resulted in many in-house teams looking for alternative ways to organize and manage their IP work.
The Internet of (Legal) Things
November 30, 2014
Technology research firms such as Gartner predict that, in five to 10 years, the number of smart devices will balloon to more than 26 billion. Welcome to the "Internet of Things" (IoT) ' the web of embedded computing devices that interact with our everyday lives.