Technology

Expert Analysis

• Thoughts On Consolidating Federal And State Antitrust Cases

  

  Consolidation of federal- and state-based antitrust cases can promote judicial efficiency in an overburdened system, but these opportunities also jeopardize constitutional due process rights, say attorneys with Crowell & Moring LLP.

• A General Counsel's Top 10 Tips On Calif. Wage-And-Hour Law

  

  California is a great place to live, but it can be a challenging place to do business, with one of the biggest challenges being the multitude of wage-and-hour class actions filed each day. I never had a "starter kit" when I first began my in-house practice, but I certainly wish someone had given me one, says Francis Drelling, general counsel with Specialty Restaurants Corp.

• Exploring The Nondiscriminatory Aspect Of RAND Licensing

  

  The challenge of determining royalty rates and other licensing terms for standard-essential patents that can be accepted as reasonable and nondiscriminatory has recently come into sharper focus. But despite the recent court decisions, no formal definitions of “nondiscriminatory” exist in the context of RAND, say Edward Gold and Scott Weingust of Stout Risius Ross Inc.

• Key Questions When Selecting E-Discovery Vendors

  

  While e-discovery remains a critical pain point in litigation, the "solutions" supporting its processes continue to evolve. In order to help organizations navigate the sea of options, we conducted research with 21 organizations across e-discovery market segments to understand the factors involved in successful e-discovery investments, says David Houlihan of Blue Hill Research Inc.

• A 1st Look At Potential Reach Of 2nd Circ. Newman Decision

  

  A New York federal judge recently vacated previously accepted guilty pleas in U.S. v. Conradt, an insider trading prosecution brought under the “misappropriation” theory. There is now an increased likelihood that the Second Circuit’s decision in U.S. v. Newman will be read by other judges to apply to cases brought under both the classical and misappropriation theories, say attorneys with Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.

• The Trouble With Commil Is DSU

  

  The Federal Circuit's decision in Commil USA LLC v. Cisco Systems extends DSU’s holding — that a good-faith belief in noninfringement negates the intent requirement of § 271(b) — to a good-faith belief in a patent’s invalidity. But it is not clear that, in the cases relied upon by DSU, an intent to induce actionable infringement is required in the first instance, say Brian Coggio and Ron Vogel of Fish & Richardson PC.

• Invoice Intercepted: A New Form Of Wire Fraud

  

  A new scam has arisen in a sordid line of wire fraud scams. What makes this email scheme particularly pernicious is that the victims often do not realize they have been scammed out of thousands of dollars until days, if not weeks, after the scam has occurred, after they have lost their money, and after the perpetrator is long gone, says Jeffrey Rosenfeld of Kronenberger Rosenfeld LLP.

• When Scientific Research Becomes False Advertising

  

  Publicizing the results of scientific research in advertising or promotional material may enhance a company’s reputation or increase product sales, but it is important to do so carefully. The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Eastman Chem. Co. v. PlastiPure Inc. demonstrates that the use of scientific research can lead to liability for false advertising under the Lanham Act, says Sandra Edelman of Dorsey & Whitney LLP.

• China's Draft Foreign Investment Guidance Is Encouraging

  

  The draft of China's new Foreign Investment Guidance Catalogue lifts restrictions on foreign investment in dozens of service and general manufacture industries and would relax Chinese ownership requirements. Although foreign investors still would have to operate in some of these industries through Sino-foreign joint ventures, control by the Chinese partners would no longer be required, say Woon-Wah Siu and Liang Tao of Pillsbury Wi... (continued)

• A Data Security Checklist For Companies Hiring Law Firms

  

  We trust our law firms with huge amounts of data, whether in or out of discovery, investigations or litigation. All too often, we have relied on privilege, confidentiality and attorney ethics as a proxy for data protection and information security. But in fact, law firms ought to be held to a much more stringent standard — and in-house counsel would be wise to begin with a number of specific inquiries, says legal industry consultan... (continued)