Preliminary Injunctions in Patent Litigation
June 28, 2005
Motions for preliminary injunctions have become effective weapons in patent infringement litigation. One of the most important benefits to a patentee is quick relief, since a motion for preliminary injunction may be heard within weeks after a patent lawsuit is filed. Preliminary injunctions may also promote settlement, since if the injunction is granted, the effect can be devastating to a defendant. If the accused device or method is a central part of the defendant's business, an injunction may ruin the defendant financially. On the other hand, if the motion for preliminary injunction fails, a defendant may be much less willing to settle, since the defendant's invalidity and/or non-infringement positions may have been bolstered by denial of the preliminary injunction, not to mention the fact that the defendant's success was likely obtained at significant expense.
Database Security Breaches: Legal Liability
June 28, 2005
The recent report of a possible compromise of information among as many as 40 million MasterCard customers demonstrated in frightening clarity the potential for digital data breaches as more and more information is stored and manipulated electronically by more and more people. For many companies, the issue has an impact on operations and marketing, quite aside from the dangers of potential legal liability. <br>More than ever, e-commerce firms are vulnerable to such problems and would do well to heed counsel's advice to take steps to avoid compromises and legal liability.
Better Safe Than Sorry
June 28, 2005
Information technology has become an invaluable business tool around the world. With it, businesses ' the traditional kind and those that operate over wires (and wirelessly) ' including law firms are able to increase efficiency and lower costs. After all, information technology is the gateway to one of the e-commerce sector's most important assets: Information. <br>But what happens when information cannot be trusted? When it is vulnerable and exposed to Internet threats? When information is secure, it is trustworthy; anything less than that, and it simply loses its value.
Avoid Contract Traps
June 28, 2005
e-Commerce veterans may think they know how to read a business contract, and for most contracts, they're right, because checking what has been typed onto a preprinted form ' the price, deliverables and delivery date ' is usually enough to know. <br>But the provisions of tech contracts that really affect success may not be so obvious. Contract boilerplates often hide traps for the uninitiated. Merely reading the language specifically added to a form may not reveal the actual risks lurking in the contract.
Paper Intake Forms Are 'So Yesterday'
June 27, 2005
Well it's about time. The days of filling out paper forms, and sending them through the office mail to only then have someone re-key them into a computer are gone. Double entry of information and paper forms are a waste of valuable time and money. Some law firms tend to be inefficient, thinking that a little inefficiency helps increase billable hours. We'll save that discussion for another time. Internal staff inefficiency is another story; this is hard cost, non-billable and is definitely money to a partner.
Electronic Discovery Reference Model Project Launched
June 27, 2005
A group of 29 organizations has formed a group that will follow an open process to develop a reference model describing the concepts and relationships that comprise the electronic discovery processes. Called the Electronic Discovery Reference Model Project, the group will develop The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) that will provide a common, flexible and extensible framework for the development, selection, evaluation and use of electronic discovery products and services.
Business Valuation in Divorce
June 27, 2005
The question of how to value private companies in marital dissolution proceedings has been wrestled with for many years. Several valuation methods have been used, although some that are commonly used, and perhaps favored, for other valuation purposes are effectively banned from use in divorce cases due to interpretations of existing case law. Two significant valuation methods, the Guideline Public Company Method (GPC method) and the Discounted Cash Flow Method (DCF method), have been largely excluded from use in divorce cases in some states. This article addresses the GPC method, and when it would be appropriate to use. At a later date, Part Two of this article will address the DCF method.
Compliance in the Era of 'Undersight'
June 27, 2005
The thesis of this article is that the new civil and criminal whistleblower provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), coupled with growing acceptance of whistleblowing in both the law and popular culture, may create a climate in which employees more frequently engage in "undersight" to report violations of law or policy. "Undersight" is a term this author has coined to describe corporate employees who witness potential fraud first-hand and voice their concerns, in contrast with "oversight" through which corporate outsiders attempt to detect fraud relying on second-hand information.
Contingency Fees: A New Option For Complex Business Litigation
June 27, 2005
For many years, there have been qualified attorneys performing contingent fee services in securities class actions, consumer class actions, toxic tort and personal injury cases. But, historically at least, the contingent fee approach has not been a viable option for complex business cases. Why has this been the case? There seem to be three key reasons: Supply, demand, and tradition.
