Outsourcing R&D to India: Patent Pitfalls to Avoid
September 29, 2006
In today's global marketplace, an increasing number of technology-driven companies include R&D outsourcing as part of their business practice. Some industry sectors even consider the viability of technology outsourcing as a prerequisite to any high-impact business plan.
Role for Patents In Videogame Industry
September 28, 2006
For videogame developers, publishers and investors, the most important asset is the intellectual property rights they own or control in a game. All of the elements of a videogame ' the story, audiovisual elements, underlying computer code and even 'gameplay' elements (ie, that specify the way a user interacts with and experiences a game) ' are subject to one or more forms of intellectual property protection. Traditionally, intellectual property protection for videogames has been based upon either trade secret, copyright or trademark. Patents, however, are quickly becoming an important part of the videogame industry.
How a Venture Capitalist Views the Franchise Business: A Q&A with H. Scott Pressly of Roark Capital
September 28, 2006
Roark Capital is one of the most prominent private equity firms participating in the franchise industry. The company has been investing in franchise operating companies since 2001, and has invested in nine brands comprising more than 2600 locations in 50 states and 29 countries. The firm's roots are in franchising, as Neal Aronson, founder and managing partner, was co-founder of U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc., before selling the franchise operator and starting Roark Capital.
Automate and Save
September 28, 2006
A new day is dawning for electronic discovery in corporate environments. Opposing counsels recognize that e-documents stored in proprietary formats or on multiple systems no longer mean that they are inaccessible.
UK House of Lords Sets Limits on Application of EU Antitrust Law
September 28, 2006
The decision by the House of Lords in <i>Inntrepreneurs Pub Company v. Crehan</i> concerning the Inntrepreneur chain of franchised pubs and its exclusive supply of beer under the franchise agreement is the latest and probably final step in a long-standing dispute about the consequences of the infringement of European Competition Law by a franchise (or indeed other) agreement. It concluded that damages can be awarded for breach of Article 81(1) of the Treaty of Rome ' the EU's antitrust law ' but should not be awarded in this particular case.
Liability Without Harm: Is There a New Source of Catastrophic Liability Lurking Within Your State's Consumer Protection Statute?
September 28, 2006
Lost benefit suits are especially threatening to product manufacturers because these claims are particularly susceptible to class aggregation. Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits plaintiffs to assemble into classes when, among other things, they share 'questions of law or fact' and those common questions 'predominate over any questions affecting only individual members.' Fed. R. Civ. P. 23. Ordinarily, injury and causation are sources of diversity between plaintiffs and, by extrapolation, impediments to class treatment. Plaintiffs who claim injury from tobacco, for example, frequently claim different injuries and different causal mechanisms and, therefore, typically may not assemble into classes. <i>See, e.g., Aspinall</i>, 442 Mass. at 392-93, 813 N.E.2d at 485-86. By dispensing with the injury and causation requirements, lost benefit suits destroy a source of diversity between plaintiffs and promote class treatment.
Effective Legal Holds Policy Requires IT-Legal Interaction
September 28, 2006
The explosive growth in electronic communications has resulted in a corollary growth of e-mail as a primary source of legal discovery when organizations are faced with litigation. As recent high profile cases demonstrate, traditional litigation hold processes are being successfully challenged as inadequate in the context of electronic communications. The lesson, therefore, is that if a company uses technology to run its daily business operations, it will be expected to utilize similar technologies to search, collect and produce requested or subpoenaed business records. Symantec Corporation, a developer of security and availability software tools, is leveraging its own products and the expertise of both its legal and IT departments to develop and implement a litigation hold program designed to significantly reduce the time and money spent to collect and preserve e-mail records. This article summarizes some of the 'lessons learned' by Symantec as we worked with our own technology to develop our legal hold program.
Practice Tip: Minimizing Liability Exposure By Reporting Adverse Drug Experiences
September 28, 2006
In order to minimize potential product liability associated with pharmaceutical products, companies regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ('FDA') should be vigilant in ensuring that adverse drug experiences ('ADEs') are reported to the FDA in a timely and complete manner. FDA regulations contain extensive requirements regarding the reporting of ADEs for companies involved in the distribution chain, such as manufacturers and distributors. Failure to report, when required, can result in an FDA enforcement action and exacerbate liability exposure. A proactive ADE collection and reporting system will place a company in a better position to address unanticipated issues that may arise after full-scale commercial marketing has begun. Therefore, companies must know their regulatory responsibilities and implement procedures to ensure that ADEs are collected and reported, as required by law. This article covers only some of the re-quirements and issues to consider.
Looking at Lease Provisions from the Litigator's Angle
September 28, 2006
Frequently, commercial lease issues are brought to the attention of a litigation lawyer only after a dispute between the landlord and the tenant has erupted. Oftentimes, the dispute involves the 'boilerplate' provisions that do not raise much interest during the drafting phase because they are not considered to be economic deal points. <i>See</i> 'Revisiting Boilerplate or 'Miscellaneous' Lease Provisions' in the January 2006 issue of <i>Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy</i>. This lack of interest in boilerplate provisions is a mistake because it is much easier to resolve concerns regarding those provisions ' which become very important in the litigation context ' while the parties are amicably moving toward closing a deal, rather than during the pendency of a lawsuit. Many times, disputes could have been either avoided or minimized had the parties clarified certain important issues while they were negotiating and drafting. This article discusses several leasing issues that should be carefully considered while the parties are still on friendly terms.
Law Firms At the Top of GC Speed-Dial Lists
September 28, 2006
For the past 5 years, Corporate Counsel has conducted a survey of Fortune 250 general counsel, asking them to list their 'primary' outside counsel. This year, 93 companies provided information on their top law firms for corporate transactions, litigation, labor and employment, and intellectual property. Those companies named a total of 380 law firms.
