Features
Recovering Administrative Claims in Chapter 9 Bankruptcy and Title III of PROMESA
Municipal bankruptcies under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code are rare. These cases are often filed to adjust bonded indebtedness and pension obligations. Congressional authorization for Puerto Rico and its instrumentalities to file for bankruptcy under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) was similarly out of concern for excessive bond debt and pensions.
Features
Five Ways to Eliminate the Need for a Corporate Monitor
Government-imposed corporate monitors — once a rare occurrence in the U.S. — are now commonplace, not only with domestic regulators, but also with regulatory agencies in various other countries, in connection with enforcement proceedings and prosecutions for criminal offenses such as anti-corruption violations and other misconduct.
Features
Regulating Interior Landmarks
What powers does the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) have to require a building owner to maintain a mechanical clock located in the interior of a building? In <i>Save America's Clocks, Inc. v. City of New York</i>, that issue generated a 3-2 division in the First Department, with the majority holding that the Commission had power to require maintenance of the clock, and to require public access to it.
Features
Federal Circuit Holds That PTAB's Determination on Whether the One Year Time-Bar Is Triggered in <i>Inter Partes</i> Review Is Reviewable on Appeal
On Jan. 8, 2018, the Federal Circuit issued its significant <i>en banc</i> decision in <i>Wi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom.</i> In that decision, the Federal Circuit held that the time-bar of 35 U.S.C. §315(b) is reviewable on appeal, thus overturning a prior panel decision and opening the door for parties to challenge how the USPTO has interpreted and applied that statutory provision.
Features
More Developments in NFL Concussion Litigation
Several leading law firms in the National Football League concussion settlement litigation are taking issue with an expert report that suggested slashing attorney fee recoveries. More than 10 law firms have filed responses to a December expert report that recommended capping attorney fees.
Features
Trademark Board's Precedential Ruling on Use in Commerce
In a nearly 50-page precedential opinion in a ruling of great significance to the entertainment industry, a TTAB panel of judges recently underscored the need to prove actual use in commerce in order to register a trademark, regardless of how low the standard for use under the Lanham Act has recently become.
Features
The False Claims Act Sealing Orders
<b><i>What They Say and Do Not Say</b></i><p><b><i>Part Three of a Three-Part Article</b></i><p>The question remains: Is the defendant in a False Claims Act matter barred from discussing the case, as are the relator and the government?
Columns & Departments
Development
Town Board Failed to Take 'Hard Look' at Amendment<br>Jurisdictional Determination from Army Corps<br>Developer Failed to Allege Concrete Injury
Features
Bankruptcy Venue Reform Bill
On Jan. 8, 2018, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced the Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2018, which is designed to prevent forum shopping in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, a practice that has resulted in a concentration of bankruptcy cases in a few districts.
Features
Federal Circuit Holds Scandalous or Immoral Marks Entitled to Registration
<b><i>Refusal Is an Unconstitutional Violation of Free Speech</b></i><p>On Dec. 15, 2017, a unanimous Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that despite Appellant's mark comprising “immoral or scandalous” matter, the PTO could no longer refuse federal registration of such marks on the grounds that this refusal violated the free speech clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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