February 7 2008
Ownership Issues Underlying the "Work Made for Hire" Doctrine
The "work made for hire" doctrine is a major exception to the fundamental principle that copyright ownership vests in the person who created the work. The significance of this doctrine is that, as the copyright owner of the work, an employer will own all exclusive rights to the work and may freely commercialize the property to its fullest extent.
January 28 2008
Download: New Leave Benefits for Military Families under FMLA (1014194).PDF
NEW LEAVE BENEFITS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES UNDER THE FEDERAL FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
Lizbeth V. West, Esq.
Weintraub Genshlea Chediak
Employers have been watching and waiting to see if the proposed amendments to the FMLA would become law and if so, what it would mean for the workplace.
January 24 2008
Download: Ross v RagingWire (1011941).PDF
As promised during our 2007 Labor and Employment Law Year in Review, here is an update on the medicinal marijuana case decided yesterday by the California Supreme Court in Ross v. RagingWire. In addition to the Key Points of the Ross decision below, we have attached the opinion in its entirety.
Key Points
January 23 2008
E-Discovery Ethical Rules Remain Unchanged
Lawyers can’t turn around without being bombarded with CLE brochures announcing yet another e-discovery workshop. Electronic discovery is a new medium for storing information, but the time-tested rules concerning an attorney’s ethical duty to the court and opposing counsel in connection with discovery have not changed. On January 7, 2008, Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major on the United States District Court,
January 18 2008
Election of Statutory Damages for Counterfeiting Bars Attorney’s Fee
Plaintiffs in trademark infringement cases may not be eligible for attorney fees depending on their election of damages. This last December, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals examined whether or not electing statutory damages for trademark counterfeiting claims under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c) precludes the awarding of attorney fees under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(b). The court held that an election for statutory damages does indeed bar the plaintiff from recovering attorney fees in counterfeiting cases.
January 3 2008
Trademark Infringement and the Importance of Establishing Likelihood of Confusion
On December 28, 2007, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in the case titled Applied Information Sciences Corp. v. eBay, Inc., in which it clarified the plaintiff’s burden in a federally registered trademark infringement action. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion demonstrates the importance of a plaintiff in a trademark infringement claim being prepared to offer evidence of the likelihood of confusion in order to avoid dismissal of its trademark infringement claims.
January 1 2008
In The 9th Circuit, May Not Be Worth It To Elect Statutory Damages In Trademark Counterfeiting Claim
By Scott Hervey
In a trademark counterfeiting claim, the successful plaintiff is entitled to recover actual damages or can statutory damages. However, according to a recent decision by the 9th Circuit, depending on the recovery sought, the plaintiff may loose the ability to recover attorney fees.
In K and N Engineering,
December 19 2007
The Federal Circuit Finds Mental Process Unpatentable
By Audrey Millemann
Patentable subject matter (i.e. what kinds of things can be patented) includes processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter. 35 U.S.C. §101. Abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature are non-patentable (or non-statutory) subject matter. Computerized methods of doing business are increasingly likely to be rejected as non-patentable subject matter by the PTO, and the courts are becoming more likely to affirm these rejections.
December 11 2007
Can A Company Go Too Far In Preventing Its Employees From Being Hired Away By Its Customers?
By Dale C. Campbell
Can a company go too far in preventing its employees from being hired away by its customers? The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently answered, “yes,” but gave some indication where the line of permissible restrictions is crossed. (VL Systems, Inc. v. Unisen, Inc. (June 2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 708.)
The plaintiff VL Systems (“VLS”) was a computer consulting company and defendant Unisen was its client.
November 23 2007
Fantasy Sports League Hits It Out Of The Park In Challenging MLB’s Ownership Of Player Statistics
By Scott Hervey
Just how valuable are baseball statistics? Apparently very valuable. In fact, baseball statistics are so valuable that CBC Distribution and Marketing, which has run the CDM Fantasy Sports leagues since 1992, sued Major League Baseball and challenged its ownership claim over player statistics. In a matter which rose all the way to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit,
