Litigation Cost Control in the Digital Age
With new judicial opinions being issued every month on the topic, the allocation of e-discovery costs is probably one of the fastest-growing areas in e-discovery jurisprudence. <br>Given that the price tag associated with e-discovery can be staggering, some of the most intense arguments in a lawsuit can ensue over which party will foot the bill to collect, restore, process and produce the enormous volumes of electronic evidence that is discoverable in many of today's legal proceedings.
Arbitration Gains Acceptance as a Means of Resolving IP Disputes
Intellectual property disputes typically have been resolved through litigation rather than arbitration. Litigators have seen arbitration as a dispute resolution method geared at matters of private contract. Because intellectual property's very existence has been a product of public policies supporting invention, branding and creativity, the courts have seemed to be the more appropriate locale to handle these disagreements. In the last 20 years, however, arbitration has received increasing attention as an acceptable method of resolving intellectual property disputes.
WARNING! Employees' Entertainment May Be Employers' Headache
Most employers have come to realize that personal use of the Internet at work by employees can decrease productivity, and that employees downloading inappropriate material can lead to hostile work environment claims. What many employers have not yet thought about is the potentially explosive problems facing them as the music industry continues its crackdown on those who illegally download and share pirated music files over the Internet.
Bit Parts
Recent developments in entertainment law.
Attorney Fees Update
Depending on the circumstances and the law, parties on either side of an entertainment suit may ask a court for an award of attorney fees. Following are recent court rulings that deal with this and related concerns. In this and future issues, <i>Entertainment Law & Finance</i> will report on such relevant rulings in Attorney-Fee Updates.
Clause & Effect: <b>'Recoupment' Defined In Agreements for Theatre Productions</b>
In theatre, "recoupment" is a term of art that all knowledgeable persons in the business understand to have a specific meaning. Simply stated, the concept is that the author, director or others involved in the play can be paid more after the play has started making a profit, which is the time when the investors could have recovered their respective investments. It has always been a good negotiation tactic, for example, to offer the author more after the play is making a profit. This tactic has saved many deals that could have fallen through.
Courthouse Steps
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
