Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Search


Law Firm Management Beware: Seven Ancillary Business Pitfalls
Some law firms create unique, successful ancillary business models that not only boost the bonus pool, but also attract related legal business. Other firms make assumptions about market need, create management teams around partner free time, and generate little or no revenue. How will your firm find a successful model that fits the your own firm culture?
Confidentiality Controversy
By a slim 17-vote margin, the American Bar Association's House of Delegates during the association's annual meeting changed model rules governing the attorney-client privilege in the hopes of combating corporate fraud.
Risk Modeling, Not Patent Mining: Identifying the Best Patents for Licensing
Patent value increases when positive cash flow can be attributed directly to it. Ideal patents for licensing are those already being used (or, perhaps, abused) by others. Unfortunately, identifying unauthorized patent use can be like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. Random patent mining by bibliometric methods is an extremely inefficient method of identifying licensing candidates — but many patent owners continue to use such methods out of habit.
Patent News
Highlights of the latest patent news and cases from across the country.
To Develop a Patent Portfolio, Get Active
You've conveyed the importance of developing a patent portfolio within your company, hired an IP manager, initiated an inventor incentive program, and budgeted for the costs of protecting your company's IP. Now, you are beginning to wonder where all the inventions are.
Vague Claim Construction Rules Lead to Reversals
Why can't federal trial judges figure out what patents mean? As it held en banc in <i>Cybor Corp. v. FAS Technologies, Inc.</i>, 138 F3d 1448 (Fed. Cir. 1998), district court rulings on claim construction &mdash;interpretations of the meaning of patent claims &mdash; are reviewed de novo as questions of law by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A recent study concluded that more than 40% of all claim construction rulings reviewed by the Federal Circuit in 2001 were reversed in whole or part. Andrew T. Zidel, "Patent Claim Construction in the Trial Courts: A Study Showing the Need for Clear Guidance from the Federal Circuit," 33 Seton Hall L. Rev. 711 (2003).
Maximizing Your Patent Prosecution Dollars: A Few Simple Considerations
According to the statistics released by the USPTO (available online at <i>www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/reports.htm)</i>, approximately 326,508 utility patent applications were filed in 2001 in the United States and 166,045 utility patents were granted. The cost associated with the preparation and prosecution of patent applications last year was a multi-billion dollar business. In this era of cost controls, it is rare to find a patent prosecution department that is not subject to budgetary constraints. In-house patent counsel, as the gatekeepers for prosecution, need to select and work with outside patent counsel to maximize the return on their patent prosecution investment.
News from the FDA
The latest information for use in your practice, including rulings, draft guidances, seminars, and more.
Case Briefing
Recent rulings of importance to your practice.
New Regs for Reprocessed Single-Use Devices
Single-use medical devices (SUDs) are designed and approved by the FDA to be used once and thrown away. The practice of cleaning and reusing disposable medical devices has resulted from hospitals' continuing search for cost-cutting alternatives. The safety and efficacy of reprocessing SUDs has been the subject of significant - and heated - debate.

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
    Read More ›
  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
    Read More ›