Publications
In the wonderful world of patent law, the words “prosecution history estoppel” often go hand-in-hand with “doctrine of equivalents”, inasmuch as the existence of the former serves to limit the range that is available for the latter. This paper will review the interplay of these doctrines from two vantage points.
The test for an association’s standing to sue on behalf of its members has existed for thirty years, dating back to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission. It appears that franchisee associations have often encountered difficulty passing this test, although the reported authority on associational standing in franchise […]
This presentation on mass tort claims in the U.S. covers such topics as number of cases, amounts of judgments, recent litigation and legislative developments, anticipated future developments and a case study of fast food obesity claims.
The corporate veil covers much, but it does not cover everything. That could have been the opening line of each of two important business law decisions handed down by the Connecticut Supreme Court a week apart this past summer: Celentano v. Rocque, 282 Conn. 645 (2007), and Weber v. U.S. Sterling Securities Inc., 282 Conn. […]
Yogi Berra once observed “when you come to a fork in the road…. take it.” It seems that we may have come to a fork in the road, so to speak, as far as efforts to change the patent system are concerned. During the last few months, proposed legislation has been introduced into Congress that […]
Historically a hub of manufacturing and industry, Connecticut serves as home to a significant number of abandoned or partially used industrial properties. Plagued or stigmatized by either real or perceived environmental contamination, these legacy properties constitute Connecticut’s “brownfields.” Factories and mills throughout the state that once made clocks, pins, thread, hats, guns, tools, and other […]
Over the past few years the amount of attention focused on intellectual assets has increased in proportion to IBM’s 3,000 percent increase in revenues from licensing its intellectual capital. IBM is just one example. Companies such as Microsoft, Texas Instruments, and Dow Chemical have also demonstrated the power of licensing to improve a company’s financial […]
September 2002 To Our Clients and Friends: Over the past few months we have been receiving an increasing number of questions about the applicability of the federal Intermediate Sanctions to the directors and officers of tax-exempt organizations when they are approving compensation arrangements. We thought it would help our clients and friends who have an […]
Firing an at-will employee for stating her intent to seek legal advice regarding her rights and obligations in response to an unfavorable work evaluation does not violate a public policy sufficient to support an exception to the employment-at-will rule, according to Maryland’s highest court.
Amicus curiae briefs have become a prominent feature of virtually every U.S. Supreme Court case and the subject of considerable scholarly attention. The rules, trends and practices concerning amicus briefs in the federal circuits are more varied and controversial.
At the risk of offending many readers, I offer this not so humble opinion: trying a lawsuit, especially to a jury, is the ultimate expression of the lawyer’s art and craft. On an intimate stage before a live audience, no second takes available, the trial lawyer is the producer, director, occasionally bit player, and sometimes […]
Was the debtor insolvent at the time of the transfer? This is often the threshold issue in preference and fraudulent conveyance actions. It is therefore necessary in many cases to determine insolvency at a specific point in time, prior to the bankruptcy filing.
As we patent lawyers know, Section 101 of the Patent Act of 1952 (herein “the ’52 Act”) is not the “end all and be all” in determining what is, and what is not, a patentable claim. Rather, it is a threshold consideration. If the claim passes muster under Section 101, then other considerations come into […]
Powerpoint presentation before the CT New Media Association on 6/8/00
One of my hobbies as an appellate lawyer is collecting appellate horror stories. (I know, I know, only an appellate lawyer would have such a hobby.) Here’s one that makes my skin crawl every time I think of it. The federal government indicted six individuals for conspiring to distribute cocaine. Just before trial, two of […]
Estate Taxes (You’re kidding, right?) Actually, no. The federal estate tax is still with us. You will, no doubt, be amazed to learn that the recent changes to the federal estate tax law, compliments of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001(fondly referred to as “EGTRRA”), bring a heretofore unknown level of […]
CONNECTICUT LAW Private FDCA Right of Action No state court has addressed whether there are FDCA-related private rights of action under Connecticut law. In Connecticut, there can be no private right of action for breach of a duty established by statute without express statutory authorization. E.g. Middleton v. Hartford Electric Light Co., 192 Conn. 591, […]
TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. The Prudent Man Rule III. Modern Portfolio Theory IV. The Connecticut Uniform Prudent Investor Act A. Reasonable Risk and Return Trade-Off B. Necessity for Diversification C. Delegation D. Standard of Care for Trustees and Factors to Consider in Decisions E. Application of Act F. Nonprofit Organizations V. Connecticut Principal […]
Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1981 (“FIRPTA”), gains realized by foreign persons in connection with the disposition of interests in U.S. real estate are taxable as effectively-connected income for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Included within the definition of interests in U.S. real estate are certain interests in U.S. corporations […]
Keeping a proper notebook is critical to establishing yourself as the inventor Unlike most other countries in the world, the US patent office awards a patent to the person who is the “first to invent.” In other words, in the US, the first person who conceived the invention, and successfully reduced it to practice, is […]
[Reprinted with permission from The Connecituct Law Tribune Magazine Corporate Counsel October 5, 1998] Anti-takeover devices can keep a corporation from becoming the next flavor of the month. The recent broad decline in the stock market, and in particular the price of smaller company stocks, may change the tone of the mergers-and-acquisitions marketplace. Although the […]
Revocable trusts are an integral part of many of the estate plans we prepare for our clients. They are attractive planning vehicles because they provide an asset management vehicle during a client’s lifetime and a Will substitute upon his or her death. Although in most circumstances a revocable trust is income tax neutral during the […]
When Pharmacia & Upjohn divested its worldwide intravenous nutrition and fluids business, external counsel James F. FARRINGTON Jr. went temporarily in-house to head the legal team. He explains the advantage of this change in status Pharmacia & Upjohn's (P&U) divestiture of its intravenous solutions business division to Fresenius AG was a complex process involving: The […]
The surprise winners in this year’s legislative sessions in Connecticut are brownfields, under utilized or abandoned properties where the presence of pollutants complicates the properties’ reuse and redevelopment. The Connecticut General Assembly recently enacted two significant environmental laws that provide resources and create incentives for the private sector to clean up brownfields and put them […]
Like most memorials in Washington, D.C., the Jefferson Memorial includes several inscriptions of notable quotations of the individual it honors. The third panel of the memorial contains the following uplifting inscription: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these […]
Presented at the Ninth Annual Connecticut State Tax Issues Update ’99 November 11, 1999.Reprinted with permission from PESI. INTRODUCTION Each of the 169 towns of the State of Connecticut is empowered to assess and collect property taxes. The powers of the towns are defined and limited by State statutes, specifically, Sections 12-40 through 12-195h. of […]
The U.S. Supreme Court declared more than two decades ago that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) embodies “a liberal federal policy favoring arbitration agreements, notwithstanding any state substantive or procedural policies to the contrary.” The purpose of the Act, according to the Court, is to “move the parties out of court and into arbitration as […]
The U.S. patent laws help fuel technological progress by awarding to an inventor a limited monopoly to exclude others from making, using and selling the invention in exchange for his or her disclosure of the invention to the public. This in turn, encourages others to learn from, and improve upon, the inventions of others to […]
From the Newsletter, Page 3. Having spent twenty-one years in the service of the public, and the last seven years in the private practice of law, I have taken on the task, perhaps quite presumptuously, of moralizing to two constituencies — my current brethren and my former brethren.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 12, 2005 decision in United States v. Booker has dramatically altered the landscape of federal criminal practice. Though most discussion thus far has centered around its impact on federal judges and prosecutors, this article will address Booker’s impact on federal criminal defendants and their counsel.