Business Development: The Ethical Boundaries
October 03, 2005
In recent years, business development has meant different things in different segments of the American legal community. To some attorneys, extensive media campaigns and billboards are the preferred method. To others, in the mass tort context for example, the aggressive pursuit of victims and their families has been all too commonplace. Elsewhere, Web sites and computer chat rooms have supplemented or supplanted the traditional firm brochures and client seminars. <br>In reaction to these trends, a number of jurisdictions have revamped their business development ethics rules in recent years. Unfortunately, the necessarily "one size fits all" approach to explicit rules has led to some curious and counterintuitive results. In states that forbid direct in person contacts with non-clients who aren't lawyers, for example, it may make sense to prevent attorneys from badgering widows and orphans. But these same rules likewise prevent lawyers in such states from telephoning a sophisticated, educated company president.
Net News
October 03, 2005
Court Rules Against KaZaA <br>Internet Oversight Board OKs New Domains
Cases of Note
October 03, 2005
Recent rulings of interest in Internet law. This month:<br>'Click Fraud' Suit Against Google Sent Back to State Court <br>Reverend Falwell Loses Infringement Web Site Claim <br>Mixed Ruling in Illinois-Based Spyware Class Action
Justice Department Conducts International Internet Piracy Sweep
October 03, 2005
The U.S. Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, recently announced a far-reaching and aggressive international enforcement action against criminal organizations involved in the illegal online distribution of copyrighted material.
For Whom The Bell Tolls: Corporate Data Security Breaches Affect All
October 03, 2005
Names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, and various types of financial information are among the most common casualties in a growing number of data security breaches at leading organizations across the country. It seems that every week, a new corporate data security breach involving the loss or disclosure of personal information is reported in the media. This is a phenomenon that does not discriminate: It touches all businesses, whether retailers, information brokers, financial institutions, universities, or healthcare companies. And thanks to a relatively recent California privacy law requiring that affected individuals be notified of the breach, the press eventually tolls the bell for all to hear. <br>With each revelation, calls have increased for government investigations and new state and federal legislation.
Web Sites Offer Useful Resources for Media Lawyers
October 03, 2005
Journalists in jail. Record-setting libel verdicts. Secret government documents. Closed-door meetings. The lawyers who represent the news media have had their hands full. But one item of good news for media lawyers is that several Web sites offer useful resources and support.
International Film Production Incentives
October 03, 2005
Given the ever-increasing expense of filmmaking in the United States, and particularly in California, many filmmakers have looked for alternatives to the traditional Hollywood-based production. While this trend originally was for smaller-budget and independent films, more and more producers and large studios have sought alternate locations in which to film. While certain U.S. states like Hawaii, New Mexico and New York provide tax incentives and other ancillary location benefits, these states haven't generally been as successful in luring so called "runaway production" as have countries with incentives that may be available.
Digital Dictation Is Simplifying How Lawyers Work
October 03, 2005
With the advent of e-discovery, it's impossible to combine today's state of the art e-discovery solutions with yesterday's analog-dictation technology. Having a foot in both worlds is at best inefficient, and at worst can lead to misplaced data or work. <br>But the dawn of digital dictation has eliminated lawyers' worst frustrations of dictating to tape cassettes. With this new technology, lawyers can treat spoken words like any other digital data, inputting it to a desktop or other computer via a microphone and manipulating it in a digital voice-software file. Lawyers can then move spoken text around, and insert spoken or printed text as well as charts, spreadsheets, photographs and videos and transmit their work to a typist or save it to an audio file for clear and accurate translation into a printed document ' or an e-document to be shared digitally or projected for viewing in the appropriate settings.
Post-<i>Phillips</i>: Will The Trial Courts Receive More Deference in Patent Cases?
October 03, 2005
The most important question in every patent case is "what do the claims mean?" The district court answers this question in its claim construction ruling. Presently, every aspect of a district court's claim construction is reviewed <i>de novo</i> by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. <br>The problem of <i>de novo</i> review is tied to the nature of patent claims themselves. Patent claims, the series of numbered paragraphs at the conclusion of the patent, define the scope of the patent owner's rights. Yet, because of the technical nature of inventions, the determination of the scope of rights is not easily made.
