Features

Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property
The documents that a firm produces are its greatest asset, yet firms historically have not made sufficient efforts to safeguard those documents from both internal and external threats. Law firms have typically had an open-door approach to document access. This means that anyone in your firm can likely access any document at any time, leaving your firm's intellectual property entirely unprotected.
Features

Sparks From En Banc Arguments In Song Suit Against Led Zeppelin
There was much harmony along with a few discordant notes as an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took up the copyright case involving Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."
Features

Fourth Circuit Rules that Website's Unauthorized Posting of Stock Photograph Was Not 'Fair Use'
The decision in Brammer v. Violent Hues sheds some light on when re-posting will be a "fair use" and when it will give rise to liability.
Features

Cultural Icons Spawn Lawsuits Worth Close Looks
The ownership of intellectual property rights can be at the core of legal disputes involving pop culture icons. Considering the goodwill, effort and money spent in building a brand, character or commercial impression, it is not surprising that parties to intellectual property agreements find themselves revisiting their arrangements over time. That is what is happening in two recent federal lawsuits, one in New York involving a beloved figure in Philadelphia sports and the other in California focused on the Old Spice cologne commercial jingle.
Features

How the U.S.-China Trade War Effects IP Strategy
The trade war between the United States and China has had far-reaching effects on international trade and the global economy. The dispute is slowly developing into a battle of attrition, without any immediate resolution on the horizon despite ongoing trade talks. As businesses change the way they operate in response to this unpredictable trade environment, counsel should consider the risks and potential impacts on corporate IP strategy.
Features

The California Consumer Privacy Act: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask
Part One of a Two-Part Article The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a comprehensive new consumer protection law set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020. In the wake of the CCPA's passage, approximately 15 other states introduced their own CCPA-like privacy legislation, and similar proposals are being considered at the federal level. Part One of this article covers how the CCPA applies to businesses — both in and outside California, the revenue threshold, proposed amendments and other open issues.
Columns & Departments
IP News
More Than a Recitation of Hooke's Law Needed for Patent Protection A Claim for a Chair Limits the Claim to a Chair
Features

The Madrid System Turns 30: The Pros and Cons of Using the Madrid Protocol in the United States and for U.S. Based Companies
This summer, the Madrid System turned 30 years old, and as two more countries prepare to join the Madrid Protocol we look at how the Madrid System has grown as it enters full adulthood.
Features

Exploring the Nebulous Boundaries of Trade Dress
Now that we are in the digital age, questions have been raised about the trade dress of websites and apps.
Features

Damages for Extraterritorial Infringement of U.S. Patents
A look at the gray area of infringement of U.S. patents in the U.S., but with related consequences or actions outside the U.S.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.Read More ›
- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.Read More ›
- Guidance on Distributions As 'Disbursements' and U.S. Trustee FeesIn a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."Read More ›
- Cutting Off the Stream: How United States v. Silver Affects "Stream of Benefits" or "Retainer" BriberyAlthough the court stressed that, by vacating certain of former NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's counts of conviction, it was clarifying and not altering the "as opportunities arise" theory, it nevertheless emphasized that this theory requires particularity with respect to the "question or matter" that is the subject of the bribe payor and recipient's corrupt agreement.Read More ›