Publications
Contributing Author
Contributing Author
Reprinted with permission from the New York State Bar Association Journal, March/April 2010, Vol. 82, No. 3, published by the New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, New York 12207. Peer Review: An Alternative Dispute Resolution Process to Dentistry Malpractice Claims Patients who are dissatisfied with their dental treatment will often contact an […]
Welcome to the 2010-11 Association year! It is a great honor and privilege for me to serve as President of your Association. I look forward with joy and enthusiasm to the challenges and opportunities that the Association will face during this time. In light of my practice being in Connecticut, my installation marks a tribute […]
On June 22, 2009, the Connecticut Superior Court judges, at their Annual Meeting, approved the recommendation of the Connecticut Superior Court Rules Committee to substantially revamp the Practice Book rules for class actions to align them more closely with Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Rule 23”). The new rules went into […]
For decades, law students have learned in their first-year civil procedure class that federal courts require notice pleading only and that a complaint cannot be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove “no set of facts” in support of its claim that would entitle it […]
Large public companies have the luxury of in-house staff and large outside consulting, accounting and law firms. During this economic downturn, they’ve gotten loads of expensive, expert advice on how to manage risk and take advantage of opportunities to gain a competitive edge when the recovery inevitably arrives. Closely held business owners are more alone […]
Reproduced with permission from The United States Law Week, Vol. 76, No. 4 (July 24, 2007) pp. 3035-3036. Copyright 2007 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) Antitrust Opinions: No Bright Lines, More Facts. On the antitrust front, Robert M. Langer, head of the antitrust and trade regulation practice group at Wiggin and Dana, […]
On February 19, 2008, the New York Court of Appeals issued decisions in Bi-Economy Market Inc. v. Harleysville Ins. Co. of New York, 10 N.Y.3d 187 (Ct. App. 2008) and Panasia Estates, Inc. v. Hudson Ins. Co., 10 N.Y.3d 200 (Ct. App. 2008), holding that in certain cases involving first party business interruption and property […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission has expressed its clear intent to target insider trading and trading related to private investments in public equity (PIPEs) as part of its campaign to regulate the hedge fund industry. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2006, SEC Division of Enforcement Director Linda Thomsen stated, “Insider trading by hedge […]
The late Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Giles Sutherland Rich’s dad, G. Willard, was well aware of the New York Patent Law Association (as our association was previously known) before his son may have even dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps by becoming a patent lawyer. In fact, G. Willard Giles was one […]
Wiggin & Dana has developed a handbook for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (“AAHSA”) designed to assist long-term care providers in implementing the Privacy Rule standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Entitled The HIPAA Handbook: Implementing the Federal Privacy Rule in a Long-Term Care […]
Although perhaps too long in coming, this country moved one step closer to a national court of appeals for patent cases on October 30 when the Senate passed S.1477.1 If passed by the House, the legislation will have an earthshaking effect on the patent system, an impact unequalled since the passage of the Patent Act […]
The rapid growth of the computer industry in recent years is reflected in projected increases in the sales of computer programs.1 World-wide sales of computer programs are expected to triple during the next decade. In light of this rapid growth rate, there has been a significant increase in the need for the adequate protection of […]
Acting within the scope of the Congressional mandate to “Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts”,1 Congress has given to inventors a limited monopoly in the form of a right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention2 in exchange for public disclosure sufficient to enable one skileld in the relevant art […]
Student internships have been used by employers for many years, but these arrangements may now be scrutinized by the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal and state agencies due to perceived abuses of various employment laws. As a result, it behooves employers who engage interns, paid and unpaid, to review the rules applicable to […]
The Antitrust Source, April 2010. © 2010 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 […]
As my fifth year of serving as our Association’s Historian draws to a close, there’s an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been, and where we’re headed as an Association. Nationally, the last five years has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride in terms of economic swings – up-cycle followed by down-cycle. Thankfully, […]
Antitrust Partner & Partner, Inc. v. Exxonmobil Oil Corp., No. 08-1590, 2009 WL 1184796, Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) ¶ 14,154 (6th Cir. May 4, 2009) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision “granting summary judgment to defendants ExxonMobil Oil Corporation and Michigan Fuels, Inc., on breach of contract, […]
The latest version of the proposed Patent Reform Act of 2010 was released on March 4, 2010 in the form of a Manager’s Amendment to S. 515.1 The proposed changes to U.S. patent law include new conditions for patentability under a “First Inventor to File” (FITF) system; a new post-grant review procedure in addition to […]
One topic likely to arise in Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings is her position on televising U.S. Supreme Court arguments. Court watchers have scrutinized her comments at the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference in 2009, when she spoke briefly but favorably about televising the Court, suggesting that the public would get to see “an amazing and extraordinary […]
This year brings the commencement or increase in enforcement of three major privacy initiatives. First, on March 1, 2010, Massachusetts began enforcement of its specific, and as many would claim, onerous privacy regulation. While only a Massachusetts state regulation, the implementing law states that its jurisdictional reach is to all businesses that possess personal information […]
I am standing on the edge of a red sandstone cliff looking down through a heavy mist to the medieval town of Landstuhl, Germany. Behind me is the U.S. Army’s Landstuhl hospital, a sprawling complex of buildings set back from the cliff’s edge. A few miles in front of me, beyond the church towers that […]
AIR EVACUATIONTraveling With USAFAir Mobility Command Aeromedical Evacuation Teams – 2009 I will be traveling with air evac teams flying air evac missions into Iraq, picking up American wounded and starting them on their way home. My goal in this article is to put you with U.S. Air Force medical evacuation crews as they fly […]
In the summer of 2007, lawyers at my firm, Wiggin and Dana LLP, formed our Climate Change and Sustainable Development group. This chapter discusses the need our community of active and potential clients has for the services provided by this practice group. This chapter cannot discuss in detail the immense range of topics comprehended by […]
In re Seagate Technology, which was decided en banc by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in August 2007, replaced the prior standard for determining whether an infringer committed willful patent infringement with a new standard that thus far, has made it more difficult for patent owners to prove willful patent infringement. In […]
Like Humpty-Dumpty, we patent lawyers would hope that our words would mean to others what we want them to mean to ourselves. Certainly we like to think we know what “patentable subject matter” means to us. However, the phrase risks confusion among non-patent people who may tend to construe “patentable subject matter” as “subject matter […]
Off-label promotions of drugs by pharmaceutical companies continue to be a concern of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In January 2009, Pfizer’s US $2.3 billion settlement and Eli Lilly’s US $1.42 billion settlement in connection with off-label promotions have been two of the largest payouts […]
Recent headlines report tales of corporate greed and avarice. Today, the corporation is typically the villain. In fact, in the current economic climate, it is difficult to imagine a corporation as a victim, especially a corporation in the financial services sector. But corporations and other business entities, in all sectors and industries, are sometimes victimized […]
Franchising is a popular method of distribution used by a wide variety of businesses. Franchising is attactive as a business model because it offers companies the prospect of expansion with a lower financial and overhead investment than establishing or acquiring a network of company-owned distribution points. In short, franchising leverages other people’s money, credit, and […]