Quarterly State Compliance Review
December 31, 2014
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect during the last quarter. It also examines some recent decisions of interest, including three from Delaware.
Georgia Fed. Ct. Dismisses Suit Over <i>Honey</i> Films
December 31, 2014
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, dismissed a lawsuit brought by hip-hop dancer Ereina "Honey Rockwell" Valencia over Universal's <i>Honey</i> and <i>Honey 2</i> movies, released respectively in 2003 and 2011.
Upping the Legal Training Ante
December 31, 2014
Womble Carlyle's technology training and online learning programs were in need of an upgrade. Unprecedented firm growth, heightened emphasis on developing lawyers' core technology competencies, and a need to streamline and automate existing e-learning processes led the firm to initiate a fundamental shift.
Keeping an Eye on the Federal Trade Commission's View on Data Security Breaches by Companies
December 31, 2014
In recent weeks, the entertainment industry has been rattled by the hacking and public release beginning in November of a massive amount of internal documents and e-mails from Sony Pictures Entertainment. By mid-December, the incident had already generated several class action lawsuits, alleging negligence and violation of state statutes. But the frequent hacking of consumer information is a liability issue that entertainment companies must be prepared for, too.
Med Mal News
December 31, 2014
News about medical bills, and wrongful birth suits.
Cramdown Interest Rates in Chapter 11
December 31, 2014
In <I>Till v. SCS Credit Corp.</I>, theU.S. Supreme Court applied a formula to determine the appropriate cramdown interest rate with respect to the treatment of secured claims in a Chapter 13 case. However, <I>Till </I> left an unanswered question about how to determine an applicable cramdown interest rate for allowed secured claims in Chapter 11 cases.
Federal Circuit Again Addresses Patent-Eligibility Of Internet-Centric Claims
December 31, 2014
On Dec. 5, 2014, a divided Federal Circuit panel held that claims directed to systems and methods of generating a composite Web page combining certain visual elements of a "host" website with content of a third-party merchant were patent-eligible. However, the patent-eligibility of Internet-centric claims remains unsettled.
