Inside the RIAA Suits
September 01, 2003
Until recently, it was generally believed that public relations and business concerns would prevent large copyright holders, such as record labels, from suing file sharers, who are also likely to be their consumers. Copyright owners have long avoided suing direct infringers for file-sharing due to obvious concerns: The cost and the negative publicity associated with filing multiple lawsuits against individual users would be overwhelming. However, this month, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed 261 civil complaints against people who have allegedly distributed copyrighted music on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
Courts Turn Up Corporate Heat
September 01, 2003
The highly publicized accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom and other large corporations have prompted a concerted legislative and regulatory response from Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the national securities exchanges. While there has been little in the way of legislative reaction at the state level, several recent court decisions reflect that state corporate law is not immune from the impact of these scandals. Using existing judicial doctrine, but applying it in a fashion that appears to indicate an increasing toughness with respect to corporate directors and officers who do not live up to their obligations, the judiciary has turned up the heat on corporate fiduciaries.
Out of Bounds: Radius Restrictions in Shopping Center Leases
September 01, 2003
A common restrictive covenant in shopping center leases is the so-called "radius restriction," a lease provision that prohibits a tenant from opening a competing establishment within a proscribed distance from the present location. Typically, a radius restriction goes hand in hand with a percentage rent provision, which allows the landlord to participate in the tenant's gross sales after a certain threshold or "break point" is achieved.
In The Courts
September 01, 2003
The latest rulings of importance to your practice.
Analyzing Provisional Rights for Patent Applicants
September 01, 2003
With the passage of the Domestic Publication of Foreign Filed Patent Applications Act of 1999, the U.S. Congress instituted a pre-grant patent publication system. As a result, the USPTO must now publish domestic utility patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000 within 18 months of their earliest priority date, unless conditions for preventing publication are met.
Jumping Through Hoops: Discovery of Records under HIPAA
September 01, 2003
When medical malpractice defense counsel first heard of the new privacy regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (the HIPAA privacy regulations), most probably thought that these detailed and complicated laws would affect only their regulatory health care colleagues. How great an impact the HIPAA privacy regulations will have on medical malpractice litigation, in general, is yet to be seen, but it is clear that these regulations have immediately affected discovery of medical records in med-mal cases.
So Far So Good for the Legal Industry
September 01, 2003
It's been a dramatic year so far for the legal industry, with signs of improvement evident, according to Hildebrandt International's mid-year report. The company provided a summary of the report for <i>Law Firm Partnership & Benefits</i>.
Is Your Process Patent Being Circumvented? Housey Forces Another Look at Section 271 Protections for Information-Producing Patented Processes
September 01, 2003
Patents containing process claims, especially those where the result of the process is information, such as some research method, business method or software, Internet or telephone-based process patents, may be among the most valuable elements of a portfolio. If used defensively, such patents may provide a competitive advantage to the owner or prevent competitors from entering into a key line of business. If used offensively, these patents offer licensing opportunities on transactions that may occur millions of times per year. Potential licensees that wish to practice the patented processes described above, however, may choose a course other than licensing — practicing the process abroad and sending the resulting information back into the United States. The recent case of <i>Bayer AG v. Housey Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,</i> No. 02-1598, slip op. (Fed. Cir. Aug. 22, 2003), construing 35 U.S.C. '271(g), may make it more difficult to enforce these process patents with respect to such outsourcing and importing activities.
The FDA's Role in Product Liability Litigation
September 01, 2003
Aside from promulgating regulations, imposing rigorous standards on myriad product manufacturers, and conducting research and studies on all such products, the FDA also takes an active role in participating in an array of product liability litigations both on the state and federal levels. Often, the FDA's position and "expertise" on an issue carry great weight with the courts and consequently can affect the outcome of litigation. Thus, defense counsel involved in product liability matters in which the FDA historically has had an interest should keep abreast of the FDA's positions on the relevant issues.
