Courthouse Steps
November 29, 2005
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
GC's New Discovery Role
November 29, 2005
One of the most common complaints from corporations today is that the cost of discovery is simply too high, making compliance with regulatory rules and litigation requests extraordinarily challenging ' and at times even crippling. But corporations can control these skyrocketing costs by taking a more active role in managing and preparing for discovery.
Can The Grokster Settlement Close The File-Sharing Pandora's Box?
November 29, 2005
Last month, Grokster apparently gave up. The P2P filing-sharing service Nov. 7 filed documents with a Los Angeles federal court reporting that it had reached a settlement in its lengthy legal case with the nation's largest record companies, motion picture studios and music publishers, as represented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). <br>This decision leads many experts to believe that a distributor of P2P technology with a legitimate intent not to infringe others' rights would not be liable for a third-party infringing use of the technology. But despite that perhaps being the case, the Court failed to create a bright-line test to help identify a "clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement" which, as Justice Breyer stated in his concurring opinion and as discussed in this article, could have a chilling effect on others creating or advancing file-swapping and other possibly legitimate technologies. Future litigations will necessarily turn on a case-by-case basis not as to the nature of the technology but potentially on the distributors' business plans.
The Chinese Restaurant Menu And Yogi Berra Approach To e-Commerce Contracting
November 29, 2005
e-commerce contracts don't always follow the rules of traditional drafting. Although e-commerce has existed for several years, few attorneys or firms have large bodies of forms from which to draw for drafting e-commerce contracts. Even a leading online contract-forms site, www.onecle.com, which extracts forms from SEC filings, doesn't have a category for e-commerce contracts. (Searching that site by company, however, quickly identifies several e-commerce companies' actual contracts.) <br>The absence of "standard" e-commerce forms should not be surprising to anyone involved in the development of online business over the last decade. The hallmark of e-commerce has been innovation, as entrepreneurs try, and then discard, new business models at a furious pace in their quest for dominance of a new landscape. As a result, many e-commerce contracts are sui generis ' they don't follow a model. Each deal has unique aspects, which must be considered separately and covered by one or more agreements. If the drafter wants to protect his or her interests adequately, then the form of a traditional agreement should not dictate the content of an e-commerce contract.
Fraudulent Rent Registrations
November 29, 2005
Last month's issue analyzed the Court of Appeals' determination in <i>Thornton v. Baron</i>, invalidating the illusory tenancies. This month, we focus on the court's computation of rent due.
The Right To Copy ' and Use ' Unprotected Product Designs Is Alive And Well
November 29, 2005
The Seventh Circuit has reaffirmed a competitor's right to copy and use unprotected product designs ' and clarified the ability to do so without violating the Lanham Act for "passing off" or trade dress infringement. <i>Bretford Mfg., Inc. v. Smith System Mfg., Corp.</i> This article examines the legal precedent behind the right to copy and use unprotected product designs in the context of this case, and provide analysis of its impact.
Beastly Beauty Contest for Preferred Providers
November 29, 2005
In this compelling snapshot of a growing trend, Eriq Gardner describes the newly expensive vetting procedures now faced by outside firms choosing to pursue business with a highly demanding large client. Gardner also touches on law business practices (<i>eg</i>, long-term fixed-fee contracting for an entire class of a client firms' litigation needs) that may bode ill for the quality of justice produced by the overall legal system
Improving Associate Retention Through Confidential Interviewing
November 29, 2005
Partners in law firms of all sizes and specialties now realise it is one thing to attract high quality associates, but an even more difficult challenge to retain them. Competition for top quality associates continues to intensify, so effective associate retention is more important than ever.
Disallowance and Subordination of Transferred Claims
November 29, 2005
Bankruptcy claims traders are currently on the lookout for a decision from the Enron bankruptcy court that could add significant uncertainty to distressed debt markets. The court has under advisement the issue of whether claims sold post-petition are subject to disallowance under ' 502(d) or equitable subordination as a result of pre-petition conduct or receipt of avoidable transfers by the transferor.
Cooperating with NYSE Member Reviews
November 28, 2005
The framework that prosecutors and regulators use to assess a corporation's response to corporate wrongdoing changed forever on June 16, 1999. That day, then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder announced DOJ's new principles for the prosecution of corporations. The so-called Holder Memorandum emphasized cooperation with prosecutors and the requirement that corporations make full and voluntary disclosure of wrongdoing if they hoped to avoid or mitigate prosecution. The twin themes of cooperation and disclosure have become the standards by which federal and state prosecutors and regulators now judge a corporation's response to instances of corporate misbehavior.
