Features

"'Google' It" Is a Protected Trademark
Consumers might use "Google" as a verb, but that doesn't mean Google's trademark for its search engine is generic.
Features

<b><i>Online Extra</b></i><br>Facebook Fine Could Slow Future EU Launches
Facebook Inc. received one of its biggest regulatory slaps late last month when European antitrust regulators fined it $122 million for providing misleading statements about its 2014 purchase of WhatsApp. The fine is relatively small compared to Facebook's annual profits, but it does signal a more aggressive regulatory environment in the region.
Features

<b><i>Online Extra</b></i><br>Protected Speech? DOJ Compliance Expert Tweets Anti-Trump Messages
Hui Chen, the contracted compliance counsel at the Department of Justice, often talks about how the tone at the top is important to compliance officers. But Chen clearly is not happy with the tone at the top of the organization, because she has been openly posting anti-Trump messages on her Twitter account, @HuiChenEthics.
Features

<b><i>Online Extra</b></i><br> What You Need to Know About Emoji Law (Yes, That's a Thing)
How will the courts deal with questions of interpretation raised by emojis?
Features

<b><i>Counsel Concerns</b></i><br>Dr. Luke's Suit Against Geragos Over Tweet Survives Dismissal Motion
Famed Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos will have to face a defamation suit over his Twitter posts implying that record producer Dr. Luke raped Lady Gaga.
Features

FTC's Letter to Paid 'Influencers'
In the digital age, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been keeping tabs on the growing trend of brands hiring so-called "influencers" — athletes, celebrities and others with large followings — to promote their products on social media. In April, the FTC turned its attention downstream to the "influencers" themselves, sending 90 letters to influencers and marketers informing them of their responsibility to "clearly and conspicuously" disclose the business relationships behind social media posts.
Features

The Challenge of Complying with China's New Cybersecurity Law
In a bid to assert control over cyberspace, China passed a sweeping cybersecurity law that affects virtually every company doing business in that country. The law is set to go into effect June 1, 2017. Despite its broad reach and potential for disruption, it appears that very few legal professionals are aware of the law.
Features

The Challenge of Complying with China's New Cybersecurity Law
In a bid to assert control over cyberspace, China passed a sweeping cybersecurity law that affects virtually every company doing business in that country. The law is set to go into effect June 1, 2017. Despite its broad reach and potential for disruption, it appears that very few legal professionals are aware of the law.
Features

Can Instagram Post of Photo Become Transformative?
An enlarged print of an Instagram post containing a copyrighted photo counts as a transformative use, an attorney for "appropriation artist" Richard Prince — whose use of other artists' material in his own works has made him no stranger to the courts — argued before a New York federal judge in April.
Features

FTC Tells Paid 'Influencers' to Disclose When Instagram Posts Are #Ads
The consumer agency has taken the view that advertisement — without proper disclosures — can mislead consumers. The agency has previously put the burden of ensuring proper disclosure on the brands. On April 19, the FTC turned its attention downstream to the "influencers" themselves.
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- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
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