Book Review: Noteworthy 'Intangibles' and the Obviousness of 'Unseen Wealth'
October 01, 2003
The book "Intangibles" is largely one of policy, but is not without its practical lessons. Baruch Lev's book is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the management of intangible assets ("intangibles"), such as patents, know-how, and relationships. The book addresses the full scope of intangibles and may be too broad to be of interest to some patent practitioners. However, the book includes interesting observations and supporting data that will reward the practitioner willing to take a broad view of patents and their place in the business world.
A Look Back at <i>New Kids on the Block</i> : Ninth Circuit Expands the Nominative Fair Use Doctrine
October 01, 2003
Trademark fair use under the common law and '33(b)(4) of the Lanham Act has long permitted a defendant to use terms descriptively to refer to the defendant's own product or service; in contrast, the doctrine of nominative fair use permits a defendant to use a plaintiff's mark to describe the plaintiff's product or service. Unlike the common law and statutory fair use defense, the nominative fair use doctrine is a judicially created defense of relatively recent vintage. Prior to the development of the nominative fair use defense, courts occasionally declined to enjoin the copying of nondescriptive marks used to refer to the plaintiff's products or services, however, a true doctrinal basis for that result was not expressly articulated until New Kids on the <i>Block v. News America Publishing, Inc.</i>, 971 F.2d 302 (9th Cir. 1992).
Comply or Die: Corporate Record Keeping in a Digital World
October 01, 2003
Although compliance is generally thought of in a regulatory sense, every corporation that could be involved in litigation needs to consider the implications of how and what information is stored. In a sense, heavily regulated industries such as health care, securities, banking, and commodities are in a better position since the specifics of record keeping are set out in great detail. All industries that interact with the government can assume that their time will come. Other corporations may not discover whether they are adequately preserving information until they are faced with a discovery request. In either event, failure to comply can have dire financial consequences.
Why Juries Turn Against Doctors
October 01, 2003
<b><i>Cases Built on Anger</i></b> Million-dollar medical malpractice verdicts have doubled since 1996. They now make up 8% of all malpractice claims actually paid. This, at the same time that verdicts for the defense remain the norm and the number of lawsuit filings has actually fallen somewhat. Why? The quick - and partially correct - answer is that the cost of health care has skyrocketed.
New Effort on Talent Management
October 01, 2003
General counsel are increasingly recognizing the need not only to manage the talent within their departments, but also to develop and enhance the group and its individual lawyers. <BR>In this, the second article in a three-part series on talent management, we focus more closely on what innovative initiatives law departments are using to capitalize on existing capabilities and what steps some of them have taken to continually add to the effectiveness of team performance.
Case Briefs
October 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Partner Capital: Why Firms Need More in 2003
Most law firm partners react skeptically to the suggestion that their capital contributions should go up in 2003. After all, with the cost of borrowing at its lowest level in over 40 years, why should partners invest more capital in the firm, thereby delaying or reducing personal cash flow? Nevertheless, even well managed firms are now likely to need more partner-contributed capital than they did just a few years ago.
Developments of Note
September 19, 2003
Recent developments in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.
Dragnet On the Internet
September 19, 2003
This article sheds some light on how investigators in one large U.S. city are using technology to fight e-commerce crime.
