Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
The IP Exclusion: The Elephant in the Room
So-called Intellectual Property (“IP”) exclusions in commercial general liability (“GL”) insurance policies have received relatively little attention from the courts. However, the ubiquity of new advertising technologies, recent appellate decisions confirming GL “personal and advertising injury” coverage for patent claims, and new claims that policyholders are facing for alleged electronic invasions of privacy may well turn the IP exclusion into the proverbial “elephant in the room.” Many courts have found GL coverage for a broad variety of IP claims. Even though a recent California Court of Appeal decision found that a form of IP exclusion barred coverage for certain “infringement of likeness” claims under a GL policy, that decision confirms that IP exclusions must be narrowly construed, are highly dependent on specific wording used, and will not routinely bar coverage in a broad variety of cases that insurance companies will argue are focused on or arise from IP claims. In other words, the denial of claims based upon the IP exclusion can be successfully challenged.
Advertising Injury Claims
Courts routinely have held that classic IP claims that involve the infringement or misappropriation of an advertisement, an “advertising idea” or technology involving advertising can trigger coverage under standard GL policy forms. Trademark and trade dress claims, primarily under the Lanham Act, have been perhaps the most heavily litigated of advertising injury IP claims. Since the landmark 1990s decisions in cases such as Lebas Fashion Imports v. ITT Hartford Ins. Group, 50 Cal.App.4th 548 (1996), and J.A. Brundage Plumbing & Roto-Rooter, Inc. v. Massachusetts Bay Ins. Co., 818 F.Supp. 553 (W.D.N.Y. 1994), the vast majority of courts considering the issues have found coverage for trademark-related claims. After all, as many courts have noted, trademarks are “a species of advertising.” GL “advertising injury” coverage forms have continued to evolve and ostensibly to narrow, partially in response to court decisions finding coverage. A current form promulgated by the Insurance Services Office and licensed for use by many large insurers applies to “use of another's advertising idea in your advertisement,” and “infringing upon another's copyright, trade dress or slogan in your advertisement,” where “advertisement” is specifically defined, and includes web pages “about your goods, products or services for the purposes of attracting customers or supporters.”
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.