Case Notes
June 28, 2004
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
Online: Learn About Crash Prevention at Insurance Institute Site
June 28, 2004
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a nonprofit research and communications organization funded by auto insurers. Its purpose is to ascertain what works and doesn't work to prevent motor vehicle crashes and to reduce injuries in the crashes that occur. The Institute's Web site (<i>www.iihs.org</i>) is a resource for practitioners who need information on vehicle safety. IIHS research focuses on countermeasures aimed at all three factors in motor vehicle crashes (human, vehicular, and environmental) and on interventions that can occur before, during, and after crashes to reduce losses.
Does 'Cooperation' Obscure the Truth?
June 02, 2004
Nowadays more than ever, accusations of business crime must be put to the test, since the stakes in this post-Enron era are at an all-time high for an accused company's survival and its executives' personal liberty and reputation. The way we test allegations in Anglo-American law is through the adversary system. Yet, just when it's needed the most, the adversary system is increasingly sidelined. For the public company, adversarialism may no longer be an option at all.
Is Bribing Foreign Tax Collectors a Federal Crime?
June 02, 2004
Just when there appears to be a significant uptick in investigations for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Fifth Circuit has issued a decision that sows further confusion over the meaning of the FCPA's criminal prohibitions.
Drug Importation Task Force Completes Its Listening Sessions
June 01, 2004
Over the past few months, the Task Force on Drug Importation has held its so-called "listening sessions" with groups and individuals that would be impacted by drug importation, should it be legalized. At the meetings, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona served as the chairman over a panel of representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as from other departments of the federal government with an interest in drug importation issues (see sidebar on page 5). The task force's members are being asked to offer recommendations to Health and Human Services' Secretary Tommy Thompson by December 2004 concerning how best to address key questions posed by Congress as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act, such as how drugs can safely be imported, what the impact of such imports would be on incentives to drug research and development, and how much the policing of imports would cost the government.
NYC Alleges Pharmaceutical Companies Manipulated the System
June 01, 2004
The City of New York filed three lawsuits in May against drug manufacturers it claims overcharged it for pharmaceuticals. The suits, brought in three district courts, claim that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Purdue Pharma L.P. kept prices artificially high on pain reliever OxyContin', antidepressant Paxil', and antibiotic Augmentin' by using false and misleading methods to extend their drugs' patents.
Case Briefing
June 01, 2004
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
A Primer on IP Insurance Options
June 01, 2004
In the last several years, a number of insurance companies including Chubb, AIG, InsureTrust (through Lloyd's of London), Venture Programs, Intellectual Property Risk Management ("IPRM"), and Litigation Risk Management, Inc. ("LRM") have begun offering insurance that pays costs associated with infringement of patents only, or infringement of some combination or all of patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights and trade secrets. For purposes of this article we will refer to these polices as "IP infringement policies." IP infringement policies vary by carrier and property covered. The following descriptions are necessarily general.
