Restaurant Industry Chapter 11 Bankruptcies
May 02, 2017
The past year has brought a wave of restaurant businesses filing for reorganization in Chapter 11. With inherently low profit margins, increased competition, limited pricing flexibility and a propensity for expansion without the support of underlying business fundamentals, the industry is particularly susceptible to business failure.
Supreme Court Rules on Design of a Useful Article
May 01, 2017
Fashion, furniture, and other design-oriented companies will take note of the Supreme Court's recent decision in <i>Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.</i>, which resolved a division among the federal circuits on the issue of the separability of designs of useful articles under the Copyright Act.
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of IP Laws
April 02, 2017
Recent U.S. cases have created benchmarks of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret liability for foreign activity, and businesses should take heed.
Information Security: The Human Factor
April 02, 2017
Law firms must be diligent about their information security — not just via protection through technology, but by training staff on what to look for and how to react to cybersecurity threats. Most security breaches arise out of human error or negligence. Educating users is one of the best defenses.
Untangling the Mystery of Cybersecurity Insurance
April 02, 2017
IT security professionals used to warn that only two types of businesses exist: those that have been hacked, and those that will be. Now, many are even more pessimistic, and divide the world's businesses into companies that know that they have been hacked, and those that don't. Law firms are juicy targets with all the personal identifiable information (PII) contained in client files. Intellectual property practices are especially attractive to cyber thieves because of the value of patent, trademark and trade secret information.
Supreme Court Ends Laches Defense in Patent Cases
April 01, 2017
<b><i>SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products</i></b><p>The U.S. Supreme Court on March 21 ruled laches is not a defense to patent infringement suits that are brought within the Patent Act's limitations period.
The Joke is in the Bag! Parody at the Federal and TTAB Levels
March 02, 2017
On Feb. 13, 2017, the eve of Valentine's Day, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals extended no love to Louis Vuitton, effectively asserting that it would not rehear the infringement suit against My Other Bag, Inc., denying the en banc request in a brief order.
Where Does Judge Gorsuch Fall on IP?
March 02, 2017
<b><i>The SCOTUS Nominee's Opinions Don't Appear to Favor Alleged Intellectual Property Infringers or Owners</b></i><br>Over the 10 years that he has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Gorsuch's decisions in intellectual property disputes have reflected a close attention to statutory text and a preference for narrow results that hew closely to precedent.