Federal Circuit Tightens Patent Venue Rules
2017 has proven to be an important year in patent infringement litigation. One of the most noteworthy developments is the fundamental change to patent venue provisions that the Supreme Court introduced...
View ArticleYour Patents May Not Be Safe
Patents are running afoul of rigorous new U.S. standards on several important aspects of patent law. The trend started around 10 years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court made it much easier to label an...
View ArticleFCC Poised To Open the Floodgates
The recent change in presidential administrations may bring about a corresponding change in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations, which protect consumers from unsolicited...
View ArticleTransfer Pricing Is Big Tax Risk for Multinationals
Transfer pricing is a complex area of tax risk affecting multinational groups. It is a major focus for local tax administrations and supranational bodies. Non-compliance can affect reputation and...
View ArticleA Way for General Counsel to Drive Shareholder Value
Progressive general counsel have adopted the view that their goal is the same as that of the CEO or CMO: to drive shareholder value. This is not simply a new way of managing the law department, but...
View ArticleA Different Kind of Takeover
Typically, clients are looking for the quickest and least expensive resolution of a case, and that frequently means an early settlement or dispositive motion. However, often the early settlement effort...
View ArticleRecent Developments in Class Action Law
The two most important unresolved issues in class actions are the standard by which plaintiffs must show an ascertainable class before a lawsuit can be certified for class treatment, and whether a...
View ArticleHidden Legal Risk of Open Source Software
As much as half the code used in all software is comprised of open source software (OSS). Open source components are, by definition, free and available for anyone to use; but there are limitations,...
View ArticleMandatory Arbitration Isn’t Always Mandatory in Canada
Consumer protection laws vary from province to province in Canada. They limit and, in some cases, void mandatory arbitration clauses in order to preserve a consumer’s right to have a claim decided by...
View ArticleSummary Disposition in Arbitration
When we ask in-house counsel to explain why their companies don’t use arbitration clauses, the answer frequently includes the assertion that “you can’t get summary judgment in arbitration.” That has...
View ArticleSome PTAB Procedural Decisions Can Be Appealed
In January 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its en banc decision in Wi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom Corp., holding that Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) time-bar...
View ArticlePrivacy and Cybersecurity Issues in M&A
Privacy and cybersecurity laws and the accompanying risks involved in M&A are rapidly evolving. While your business team is wrapping its arms around traditional areas of diligence, conduct an...
View ArticleInformation Security as a Legal/Business Partnership
Compliance with information security regulations should not be viewed simply as sunk cost or minimal value-add activity. It should be viewed as an opportunity for the legal team to engage with its...
View ArticleProsecutorial Discretion — the Quick ITC Escape
The United States International Trade Commission’s (ITC) third decision in five years not to investigate an alleged violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act, 19 U.S.C. § 1337, appears to contradict...
View ArticleA New Weapon for Creditors in Europe
Certain claimants and judgment creditors domiciled in 26 European Union member states enjoy access to a new weapon against evasive debtors. Under Regulation (EU) No 655/2014, they can apply for a...
View ArticleResource Alignment is a Big Law Department Challenge
Cost control was ranked as the top challenge facing law departments, according to the 2017 HBR Consulting Law Department Survey, but law departments are effectively managing their spending and keeping...
View ArticleBusiness Continuity Plan for the Legal Department
External threat, and its impact on the legal department’s ability to meet its mission and sustain its business processes during and after a significant disruption, is at the heart of business...
View ArticleHow to Get the Best Legal Services
Alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) can be of benefit to legal departments and law firms. According to the American Bar Association, “AFAs are not about charging more than what an hourly rate might be...
View ArticleRisks of Contractual Joint Ventures for Government Contracts
Parties pursuing government contracts or grants enter into joint ventures for many reasons. But joint venture participants often are unaware of the legal implications of operating as a contractual...
View ArticleLegal Departments Lead Industry-Wide Change
About five years ago, a group of in-house counsel from large corporations started to meet informally. They expressed frustrations with how their departments were run, and surfaced issues surrounding...
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