Developments of Note
June 01, 2004
Recent developments in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.
Is Bill Gates Public Enemy Number One?
June 01, 2004
Unfortunately, Americans these days know that terrorists can strike us at home, and anxiety about possible attacks ' from cyber assaults to the not-so-good old-fashioned kind ' is running high. <br>Of course, most Americans' vigilance against an attack is directed overseas, but should at least some of their attention, and that of anyone in e-commerce, focus on Redmond, Washington, the headquarters of Microsoft and its helmsman, Bill Gates?
Breaking Barriers With the Buddy List
June 01, 2004
What was once seen as a chatting tool for teenagers, IM is becoming a required tool for more and more businesses. According to Gartner Research, enterprise instant messaging is growing at approximately 20% annually and is expected to be in use by 70% of all companies by the end of this year. By 2005, it's expected to surpass e-mail as the primary online communication tool. <br>With IM, you can look at your list of common users or buddy list and "see" who is online via presence awareness (the ability to view who is online and available to chat). When you're working on a time sensitive contract negotiation or just need an answer ASAP, IM is invaluable for lawyers.
<b><i>Practice Tip:</b></i> <b>Using the Microsoft Office Profile Wizard</b>
June 01, 2004
The Microsoft Office Profile Wizard is a simple tool which lets you capture all of your customizations in any of the Microsoft Office applications in a matter of minutes, not hours. By allowing you the ability to both save and restore your Office settings, the Office Profile Wizard provides you with both disaster contigency (should your computer crash and you have to reinstall Microsoft Office) and with portability (so that you can transfer, for example, your custom setting from your computer at work to your computer at home).
De-mystifying Internal Administration for Solos and Small Firms
June 01, 2004
Large law firms usually have in-house administrators ensuring their systems operate as they should. Small firms and solo practitioners, on the other hand, often lack this luxury and consequently are not as efficiently organized as their larger counterparts. The need for administrative support within small firms becomes apparent when one realizes that most attorneys dread administrative tasks. They rightly determine that the best use of their time is through the performance of billable client services.
Environmental Issues in Leasing Transactions
June 01, 2004
Due to the potential for extraordinary liability associated with contamination problems, landlords and tenants in commercial leasing transactions should address environmental concerns in the leasing documents. Subsurface contamination involving soil and groundwater concerns could result in substantial costs and liabilities for both parties. In addition, asbestos can present unique issues for both the landlord and the tenant. The landlord should be concerned that the tenant's operations will result in the contamination of the premises. The tenant should be concerned that existing contamination, whether soil, groundwater, the presence of asbestos, or other problems, could present liability issues for itself.
In the Spotlight: Tenants Should Keep Watch for Innocuous-Appearing Provisions
June 01, 2004
Most leases provide for a rent abatement in the event of a casualty to either the building or leased premises that renders the leased premises unfit for the tenant's use until the casualty damage has been repaired. At first glance, the only items to be negotiated in such provisions are those that clarify what portion of the building or premises — as the case may be — must be affected in order to provide for an abatement, how quickly the landlord is obligated to restore the damage, and under what circumstances the parties may terminate the lease.
Drafting a Ground Lease When the Underlying Tenant Will Be a Single-Use Entity
June 01, 2004
Commercial real estate professionals often draft ground leases for those situations in which a tenant (the "Ground Lessee/Sublessor") leases land from a fee owner (the "Ground Lessor") to be developed into a shopping center or some other development with a mix of retail or other commercial tenants. Numerous occasions arise, however, in which a ground lease is needed because the Ground Lessee/Sublessor intends to sublease the parcel to a single-use tenant entity (the "Tenant"). When drafting the sublease for this Tenant, the real estate practitioner must tailor the ground lease to take into account the specific requirements of the Tenant's sublease.
IP Due Diligence: What Does It Mean to You?
June 01, 2004
The evaluation of the assets and liabilities of a business is referred to as a due diligence review. Most commonly, these evaluations determine the value of a business for purposes of investment or the establishment of a relationship with the business. Because the value of intellectual property has increased substantially recently and patent protection in many countries has expanded to cover software and business methods, businesses without IP assets and existing or potential IP-related liabilities are rare. With the consistent increase in damages for IP infringement and the possibility of business-crippling injunctions, it is likely that any business will be subject to, or will itself conduct, an IP due diligence.
