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Media & Entertainment
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May 15, 2013
NFL Goes To NY Appeals Court For Concussion Suit Coverage
The National Football League recently took its sprawling insurance fight over former players' head injury suits to a New York appeals court, challenging a trial court's refusal to toss claims brought by a slew of insurance carriers.
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May 15, 2013
FTC Outlines Kids' Online Privacy Expansion For Businesses
More than 90 companies that make mobile apps for children have received letters from the Federal Trade Commission outlining the revised Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the commission said Wednesday, as it prepares to implement stricter privacy rules on July 1.
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May 15, 2013
Bergstein Says Aramid Schemed With Friend To Extort Millions
California film investor David Bergstein on Tuesday hit Aramid Entertainment Fund Ltd. with a suit accusing executive David Molner of scheming with a troubled New Jersey businessman to extort millions from Bergstein and shift blame for $60 million stolen and misappropriated from Aramid to the investor.
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May 15, 2013
MTV Viewer Accuses Viacom Of Sending Spam Texts
Viacom Inc. was hit Monday with a proposed class action accusing it of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending consumers promotional text messages after they voted by phone for their favorite nominee during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.
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May 15, 2013
Apple Blasts 'Ringmaster' Label In E-Book Price-Fixing Case
The U.S. Department of Justice described Apple Inc. in documents released Tuesday as the “ringmaster” of an alleged conspiracy with major publishers to fix e-book prices, but Apple fired back, saying it had actually acted independently, in the interest of its own business.
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May 15, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: Sinopec, Siemens, Activision
Sinopec is ready to gain big through its engineering unit's anticipated $1.9 billion initial public offering, while Activision has hit a brick wall in talks with parent company Vivendi SA over the terms of a major share buyback that could be worth as much as $10 billion.
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May 15, 2013
Ryan Cos. Floats Plans For $400M Project At Vikings Stadium
A unit of developer Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc. has unveiled plans for a $400 million project in Minneapolis that would bring office, residential, retail and other space to a five-block downtown area next to the new Vikings stadium, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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May 15, 2013
CatchPlay Ducks Sanctions In Movie Rights Fight
A California magistrate judge refused Tuesday to sanction CatchPlay Inc. for allegedly failing to make film licensing payments in its suit against film buyer Studio Solutions Group Inc., ruling SSG didn't present enough evidence that CatchPlay violated a court order.
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May 14, 2013
Aereo Fires Back At Networks' IP Claims In Streaming TV Row
Streaming Internet TV provider Aereo Inc. on Tuesday fired back against networks including NBC Studios LLC suing it in New York federal court for rebroadcasting their content without a license, citing the Second Circuit’s ruling that Aereo's service does not involve public performances of copyrighted shows.
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May 14, 2013
Hasbro Sues WB Over 'Dungeons & Dragons' Film Rights
Hasbro Inc. filed a copyright lawsuit in California federal court on Monday in an effort to halt a new Warner Bros. Pictures-produced Dungeons & Dragons movie, arguing that the production company behind the planned project lost the sequel rights after its 2000 D&D movie.
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May 14, 2013
Las Vegas Sands Hit With $70M Verdict In Macau License Row
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s casino operator Las Vegas Sands was ordered Tuesday by a Nevada state jury to pay $70 million to a businessman accusing it of skipping out on $328 million in payments it allegedly owes for his help getting a Macau gambling license, according to Tuesday news reports.
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May 14, 2013
Kobe Bryant To Mediate With Auction House Before Trial
A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday ordered attorneys for basketball star Kobe Bryant into a court-guided mediation with an auction house in the hopes of avoiding a June trial over the planned auction of memorabilia Bryant says he never consented to sell.
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May 14, 2013
SF Giants' $1.6B Project Takes Step Ahead With Panel's Nod
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a term sheet Tuesday afternoon with the developers of a proposed $1.6 billion mixed-used waterfront development being spearheaded by the San Francisco Giants and Maryland developer Cordish Cos.
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May 14, 2013
Bloomberg's Terminal Snooping May Draw Criminal Charges
Bloomberg LP scrambled last week to improve its data security after admitting its reporters had accessed customer data through its ubiquitous Bloomberg terminals, but attorneys say the company and its reporters still face potential civil and criminal liability depending on what they told clients about how their information would be used.
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May 14, 2013
EMI Wins Bid For Review In MP3Tunes Copyright Row
A New York federal judge on Tuesday partially granted EMI record labels' motion to reconsider a 2011 ruling that found that defunct music storage service MP3TunesLLC was protected by safe harbor laws, saying the decision relied on another ruling that was later reversed.
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May 14, 2013
Mass. Governor Greenlights $500M Fenway Area Project
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday reportedly OK’d the construction of a $500 million mixed-use complex near Fenway Park in Boston, seven months after a state appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a related complaint from a neighboring property owner.
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May 14, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: OMERS, GE, Sony
A division of one of Canada's top pension funds is spearheading an $8.1 billion effort to swallow up a U.K. water company, while an activist hedge fund run by billionaire Daniel Loeb has set its sights on a major shakeup at Sony.
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May 14, 2013
Dick Wolf's Ex Wants $5M From Troubled Accounting Firm
The former wife of "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf launched a $5 million suit in New York on Friday claiming that a management firm recently forced to cough up $51 million to writer Patricia Cornwell also overbilled her and disastrously fumbled the arrangement of a lease.
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May 14, 2013
'This Is It' Choreographer Tells Jury Jackson Seemed Healthy
Michael Jackson appeared happy and healthy during the final two rehearsals before his death, a choreographer for his “This Is It” concerts testified Tuesday in a wrongful death trial in which promoter AEG Live LLC is accused of ignoring warning signs of the singer's frail health.
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May 14, 2013
Dish To Raise $2.5B As It Awaits Answer On Sprint Tie-Up
A Dish Network Corp. unit is planning to offer $2.5 billion in notes to help fund part of its proposed $25.5 billion acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp., the satellite television provider said Tuesday
Expert Analysis
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5 Trade Secret Trends That Could Shape 2013
Litigators should consider the trade secret trends from 2012 that promise to shape developments this year, including the increasing federal power being brought to bear on trade secret law, a deepening circuit split over the interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, increasing litigation involving social media, and the necessity of written confidentiality agreements for sophisticated businesses to protect trade secrets, say attorneys with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
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Emerging Trends In The Advertising Self-Regulatory Council
This year, advertisers should anticipate that the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council will continue to address advertising on emerging social media platforms, as well as green marketing. The ASRC is also expected to expand its review of advertising directed to children and continue to evolve its operational policies to encourage and foster efficacy and participation in the advertising self-regulatory process, says Alexis Payne of InfoLawGroup LLP.
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Online And Off Song-Beverly: Some Relief For Retailers
In Apple Inc. v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court recently found that Section 1747.08 of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act does not apply to online retailers that sell digital downloads. However, the ruling leaves open a lot more questions than it addressed, such as whether Song-Beverly applies to Internet transactions involving physical goods or kiosk transactions in brick-and-mortar stores, say Stephanie Sheridan and Caitlin Ross of Sedgwick LLP.
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When Social Media Collides With Medical Practice
The Federation of State and Medical Boards recently adopted policy guidelines for the use of social media and social networking in the medical practice. Physicians, physician groups and hospitals also need a properly drafted social media policy, because without one, the entire medical practice group or hospital may be liable for the actions of a single physician, say attorneys with Locke Lord LLP.
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Practical Tips For Responsible Social Media Marketing
The Federal Trade Commission says advertisers who run social media advertising campaigns should mandate proper disclosures, make sure the people working on those campaigns know what the rules are, and monitor what those people are doing on behalf of the advertiser. While these concepts are relatively easy to grasp, they can be challenging to execute, says Char Pagar of VLP Law Group LLP.
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Indy Downs: Lock-Up Agreements Are A Valuable Tool
A Delaware bankruptcy court's recent holding in In re Indianapolis Downs LLC should provide substantial comfort to creditors negotiating the terms of a potential plan with debtors following the petition date, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
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FTC Path Deal And Mobile Guide: A Warning To App Industry
On Feb. 1, the Federal Trade Commission announced an $800,000 settlement with Path Inc., the developer of a mobile social networking app, over privacy violations, and released two documents providing privacy guidance for the mobile app industry. Taken together, this case and these recommendations demonstrate that the FTC is prepared to investigate privacy concerns raised about any part of the mobile app ecosystem, say attorneys with Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
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Preparing Your Witness To Be A Performer
How do we prepare a witness, a layperson having no training in the art of litigation, to give an effective and memorable performance? A number of tips, when incorporated into your practice of law, will surely strengthen your witness's presentation at deposition and trial and the overall merits of your case, says Erika Ronquillo of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin PC.
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Latent Copyright Termination — Notes For The Unwary
Exercise of the termination right under the Copyright Act of 1976 is likely to become more common as we enter a period in which assignment and license grants made under the act become eligible for termination. Attorneys representing buyers in any industry in which copyrights may constitute an important part of the target's intellectual property assets will need to consider carefully the risk posed by the termination right, says Ivan Rothman of Squire Sanders LLP.
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Best Employer Practices In Light Of Noel Canning V. NLRB
Notwithstanding the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in Noel Canning v. the National Labor Relations Board, this is not a time for nonunion employers to rejoice — the technical, constitutional appointments issue involving the NLRB is far from settled and inevitably will require the U.S. Supreme Court’s review. In working to maintain nonunion status, employers should consider adopting certain prepetition best practices, says Mark Goodwin of LeClairRyan LLP.