Mail Service on Foreign Parties Allowed
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in late May that the Hague Service Convention does not bar a U.S. litigant from using the mail to serve process on a party in another country that, like the U.S., has ratified the Convention, unless that foreign country specifically has objecte
Read More
TECHNOLOGY, ANALOGY AND THE COMMON LAW
“The common law is a growing tree,” a 19th Century Pennsylvania judge wrote. “Its principles must be continually adapted to new facts, and the changing conditions of modern life.”[1] Technology has been a frequent changer of modern life. The New York Court of Appeals recently had t
Read MoreMay 04, 2017
Comments are off
COURT SUSTAINS “WHISTLEBLOWER” CLAIM UNDER NEW YORK’S REVISED NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION LAW
Following a multi-year effort, New York State adopted a comprehensive revision of its statute governing not-for-profit corporations that took effect in mid-2014.[1] Part of the revision was the enactment of a “Whistleblower Policy,” the purpose of which is “. . . to protect from reta
Read MoreMarch 07, 2017
Comments are off
New Federal Trade Secret Right Created
With President Obama’s signature on May 11, 2016 of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”), a new intellectual property right under federal law came into existence in the United States. The statute, passed almost unanimously in both houses of Congress, creates one particularl
Read More
Defining Occurence In Insurance Policies
A basic risk management tool for just about any kind of organization is its liability insurance coverage. Despite its ubiquity, however, some fairly basic provisions of a liability insurance policy, such as its definition of an occurrence, can still yield unpleasant surprises,
Read MoreMarch 23, 2016
Comments are off
The New York Commercial Division Adds New Rules
The Commercial Division of New York’s Supreme Court turned 20 in 2015, an occasion marked by a conference and accompanying booklet on its accomplishments (link here: https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/comdiv/NY/PDFs/CDbrochure.pdf), and, in the last few weeks, by a 12-minute video birthd
Read More
Ninth Circuit: “Fair Use ” Doctrine Must be Weighed Before DMCA Take-Down
You’ve just posted a too-cute video of your 13-month-old son bopping to a song (“Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince, as he then was) on YouTube. It gets a couple of hundred views and then YouTube pulls it down– because Universal Music, in charge of playing copyri
Read MoreSeptember 28, 2015
Comments are off
California Resale Royalty Act Can’t Apply Outside California
The major art auction houses’ spring sales in New York yielded a record US$2.5 billion in May, but not one penny of it will go to artists as resale royalties under California’s nearly 40-year-old Resale Royalty Act. On May 7, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Read MoreJune 22, 2015
Comments are off
Virginia Supreme Court Sidesteps Decision on “Unmasking” Standard for Anonymous Posts
When a business is attacked in an anonymous website post, the first hurdle it typically faces in seeking redress is identifying who wrote the post. The problem can be a particularly serious one for businesses that attract customers from review sites. Those who follow this area of th
Read MoreMay 07, 2015
Comments are off
Fewer Bites at the Apple for Trademark Registration Issues?
A party usually gets one chance to establish or dispute a claim, and then one chance to appeal as of right. The application of that rule in a late March decision from the U.S. Supreme Court has trademark lawyers re-thinking the interplay between proceedings before the Trademark Trial
Read More
Ads Claiming Disease-fighting Properties: D.C. Circuit Affirms FTC’s POM Ruling – EXCEPT for Double Randomized Control Test Requirement
Food, drinks and supplements that hold out hope of making you fitter or saving you from illness are a big business globally, so it’s hardly surprising that they’ve drawn skeptical government attention. One of the highest-profile U.S. law enforcement proceedings
Read MoreFebruary 25, 2015
Comments are off
2014 Recap: New York State Commercial Division Rule Changes
With 2015 still young, it’s a good moment to recap some major rule and other changes adopted by New York State Supreme Court’s Commercial Division in the year just ended:
Read MoreFebruary 05, 2015
Comments are off
12
© 2013 – 2023 Culhane Meadows Haughian & Walsh PLLC.
Designated lawyer responsible for this website: Grant A. Walsh