Publications
Commercial real estate presents unique opportunities and challenges to the estate planner. Several planning strategies are available to place the appreciation of, or the income generated by, real estate outside the transfer tax system. In addition, because commercial real estate transactions often occur on a fractional basis, valuation discounts may well apply to transfer tax […]
You just finalized the settlement terms of a sexual harassment claim comprised of fairly provocative allegations. The employee initially filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before suing in state court. The employer contested the material allegations, but is settling to avoid the costs, burdens and uncertainties of litigation and, in no small […]
On Dec. 10, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the convictions for insider trading of Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson. The decision – United States v. Newman and Chiasson1 – addressed the proof needed to establish insider trading liability of “remote tippees,” i.e., individuals who were part of a chain […]
It has now been two years since the America Invents Act created new procedures for third parties to challenge the validity of issued patents in a contested validity trial in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before its Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Specifically, on Sept. 15, 2012, the AIA replaced inter partes re-examinations with […]
In the research, development and design of new products, an increasing number of startups are turning to “in-licensing” technology from universities and other institutions as a means of getting products to market quicker while reducing both risk and cost in the early stages of development. Rapid progress in product development also allows for financing opportunities […]
A step-by-step guide on the basics of forming a corporation under the Connecticut Business Corporation Act. Sample forms necessary to the process are also included.
Things did not go as Arab Bank had hoped. After 10 years of litigation and a five-week trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn took only two days to reach its verdict: Jordan’s Arab Bank PLC is liable to the plaintiffs for providing material support in the form of financial services to Hamas, a U.S. State […]
In this day of market meltdowns, failed recalls, and foreign bribery scandals, it’s commonplace to hear calls for criminal prosecution of individuals who, in the public’s mind, should be held responsible for such calamities. These calls predictably prompt apologetic responses, in turn calling for new regulation, beefed-up federal resources, and harsher penalties. Possibly lost in […]
For years, courts and bar organizations have grappled with the decline in civility among lawyers. Courts increasingly have adopted explicit rules requiring civility and searched for effective ways to enforce those requirements. Civility is hardly a new concept in the profession. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct make it a violation to “engage in conduct […]
In a world that now relies on computers for everyday tasks, the area of software and computer-implemented inventions has become essential for innovation. However, it is difficult to define what falls within the scope of a patent-eligible computer-implemented invention under the current legal guidance. Indeed, even the appeals court dedicated to providing uniform standards on […]
On August 16, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) released its highly anticipated decision in Ass’n for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, No. 2010-1406 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 16, 2012) (“Myriad IV“), concerning the patent eligibility of isolated DNA under 35 U.S.C. § 101, on remand from […]
A series of recent decisions indicates that courts are more rigidly enforcing standards for the reasonable royalty calculation of patent damages awards. In particular, recent Federal Circuit decisions (as well as a district court case with Judge Rader of the Federal Circuit sitting by designation) show that the use of prior licenses of either the […]
INTRODUCTION Almost every patent infringement complaint includes a boiler-plate notice- pleading-style charge of “willful infringement.”1 If proven, this charge can be the basis for an award of enhanced damages up to three times the actual damages, at the discretion of the trial court.2 However, in addition to the monetary risk that such a charge brings, […]
Originally published on the American Bar Association Commercial & Business Litigation Committee Website, October 31, 2014, © 2014 This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the […]
Franchisors be warned: the National Labor Relations Board is poised to expand its long-established joint employer standard, a change that would make it easier for unions to successfully argue that a joint employer relationship exists between a franchisee and franchisor, or between a staffing agency and the companies for which it provides employees. On May […]
Class actions claiming violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act create potentially crippling exposure for companies that, without prior express consent, use an auto-dialer or prerecorded or artificial voice message to contact customers by phone, or those that send faxes or text messages. With statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation, no statutory cap […]
On May 24, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the intellectual property licensing activities of the National Football League Properties (“NFLP”), the licensing arm of the National Football League, could constitute concerted action under § 1 of the Sherman Act. In so finding, the Supreme Court rejected the NFL’s argument that the NFLP is exempt […]
A little over one year ago, the America Invents Act implemented new methods for third parties to challenge the validity of issued patents by having a contested validity trial in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Specifically, the AIA replaced inter partes re-examinations with inter partes reviews (IPR) and added a new proceeding called the […]
On March 2, 2010, in Reed Elsevier Inc. v. Muchnick, No. 08-103, the U.S. Supreme Court held that failure to have a federal copyright registration for the underlying work in a copyright infringement lawsuit is not a jurisdictional defect and therefore does not preclude courts from having subject matter jurisdiction over the copyright claim. This […]
In the first part of this article, available here, we reviewed the background concerning the filing of multidefendant patent litigations and provided an overview of the judicial and legislative approaches to addressing this issue, with a focus on new 35 U.S.C. § 299, also known as the “disjoinder” provision of the America Invents Act. Below, […]
This article reviews the impact of the America Invents Act’s “disjoinder” provision on multidefendant patent litigation in the year since its enactment. The article is divided into two parts. This first part provides background regarding the issue of multidefendant patent litigation as well as an overview of the judicial and legislative approaches to addressing this […]
Guest Post By Michael J. Kasdan and Joseph Casino In our March 3, 2010 article in the Patently-O Law Journal, Federal Courts Closely Scrutinizing and Slashing Damages Awards, we discussed recent shifts in the Federal Circuit’s reasonable royalty jurisprudence and concluded that the recent Cornell, Lucent, and Lansa cases “indicate an emerging trend to more […]
Abstract Patents on isolated genes are big business. In the past three decades, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued over 2500 patents claiming isolated DNA, and 40000 DNA-related patents in non-native form, for genes in the human genome. Thus in 2010, when a US district court judge found claims to isolated […]
The Connecticut Appellate Court issued a significant decision last year in L&V Contractors LLC v. Heritage Warranty Insurance Risk Retention Group Inc., 136 Conn. App. 662 (2012), wherein it concluded that “the doctrine of apparent authority cannot be used to hold a principal liable for the tortious actions of its alleged agent.” Following L&V, several […]
Alternatives to Franchisee Bankruptcy: Workouts, Compositions of Creditors, Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors, and Receiverships. Originally published in the Franchise Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3, Winter 2014 © 2014 by the American Bar Association. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means […]
Commonly adopted technical standards promote efficiency and compatibility between products and components from different companies. For instance, the H.264 (MPEG-4) standard governs video compression. High-definition digital television, video cameras and Blu-ray players and recorders rely on H.264 to ensure interoperability. Often, technical standards are developed in the context of a collaboration of industry players within […]
Originally published in Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Newsletter, Fall 2013 ©2013 American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section.This article is adopted with permission from articles by the authors published this year in Volume 35 of the Insurance Litigation Reporter. One of the interesting insurance coverage cases resulting from […]
© 2013 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. Run a Google search […]
© 2014 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. Between suppliers and manufacturers, […]
Originally Published in the April 2014 Issue of TerraLex Connections Introduction United States courts famously provide for broad and permissive discovery. What’s less well known is that they also provide broad and permissive discovery in support of litigation that occurs outside the United States (U.S.). Foreign (non-U.S.) entities in fights with U.S. entities before a […]