Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Author: Gibbons P.C.

Attorneys’ Use of Social Media to Research Jurors — Another Ethical Land Mine

by

Posted in E-Discovery: Legal Decisions and Court Rules

On June 20, 2012

The New York City Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 2012-2 examines whether ethical restrictions apply to attorneys who use search engines or social media websites for the purpose of researching jurors. While the Opinion does not oppose such research (provided no communication between an attorney and potential or sitting juror occurs), it broadly interprets “communication.” Although a “friend request” would obviously constitute a communication, the Opinion struggles with whether an inadvertent or unknowing notification or message to the juror, which was triggered by the attorney’s attempt to view a page or comments (such as what can occur when one views a person’s LinkedIn™ profile), should also be treated as a communication and thereby prohibited. Ultimately, the Opinion “takes no position” on that issue and instead, cautions attorneys to understand the technology at issue, refrain from engaging in deception to gather information, and promptly report any discoveries of juror misconduct that are gleaned from the research.

Key for IP Practitioners: Preparation, Preparation, Preparation!

by

Posted in Licensing / Patent

On June 14, 2012

Two recent decisions highlight the importance of proper preparation during patent litigation, from the perspective of both plaintiffs and defendants. In In re Bill of Lading, No. 2010-1493, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11519 (Fed. Cir. June 7, 2012), the Court held that direct infringement only needs the same level of pleading as that outlined in Form 18 (which is a sample complaint for direct infringement) of the Appendix of Forms to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, while in contrast, indirect infringement needs to be pled in accordance with the higher standard delineated in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009). In re Bill of Lading, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11519, at *17-27.

Residential Property Tax Relief Could Be On Its Way to Philadelphia

by

Posted in Tax Abatement / Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On June 13, 2012

All in favor of residential property tax relief, raise your hand! And, if you own an eligible home in the City of Philadelphia, apply now. The City is offering its residential homeowners the opportunity to apply for a Homestead Exemption. The Homestead Exemption would reduce the assessed value of an eligible home by $15,000 or more, and consequently lower the real estate taxes owed by the homeowner because the homeowner would pay real estate tax only on the reduced assessment.

ICANN Releases Listing of gTLD Applications

by

Posted in Trademarks

On June 13, 2012

Today, ICANN, the Internet’s domain name registration watch dog, will publish a listing of nearly 1,900 new generic Top-Level Domains (“gTLDs”) that may be approved for use as early as March 2013. We previously wrote about ICANN’s expansion program and suggested safeguards that companies could implement to protect themselves.

USPTO Offers IP Awareness Assessment

by

Posted in Patent

On June 11, 2012

Under the joint auspices of the US Patent and Trademark Office the National Institute of Standards and Technology/Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the IP Awareness Assessment is now in the beta stage and available for businesses and inventors to assess their intellectual property awareness. Dubbed “A business and inventor’s IP education tool,” this web-based offering is designed to assess IP knowledge and provide personalized training resources for businesses and inventors.

Newly-Adopted U.S. Customs Rule Provides Brand Owners with Critical Information to Combat the Import of Counterfeit Goods

by

Posted in Trademarks

On June 8, 2012

For brand owners facing the challenges posed by counterfeiting, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”) recently adopted a new temporary rule which has the potential to make it much easier to combat the import of counterfeit goods into the United States (“Interim Rule”). The Interim Rule provides that in instances where the CBP has suspicions regarding the authenticity of goods being imported, and the importer fails to provide proof of genuineness, the CBP is permitted to share detailed information about the suspect goods and importer with brand owners. This represents a welcome sea change in CBP policy for brand owners who have long been frustrated by CBP’s policy regarding limited information sharing.

Motion to Quash Part II: Twitter Seeks to Quash Subpoena Seeking Tweets in Harris Case

by

Posted in E-Discovery: Legal Decisions and Court Rules

On June 7, 2012

A few weeks ago, we reported on the recent decision of the People of the State of New York v. Harris, Index No. 080152/2011, (Crim. Ct. Apr. 20, 2012). There, the Court denied defendant Malcolm Harris’s motion to quash the District Attorney’s subpoena requiring the production of defendant’s user information, email addresses, as well as any Tweets posted for a four-month period from Twitter, Inc., all in connection with criminal charges pending against Mr. Harris due to his alleged involvement in an Occupy Wall Street protest. You can read our most recent blog post on this case from May 23. Twitter subsequently moved to quash the Court’s order on May 7, 2012, on the basis that the order imposes an undue burden upon it pursuant to Section 2703(d) of the Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2711) (the “SCA”), which provides that “[a] court issuing an order pursuant to this section, on a motion made promptly by the service provider, may quash or modify such order, if. . . compliance with such order otherwise would cause an undue burden on such provider.” Twitter argues that compliance with the Court’s order compelling the production of defendant’s Twitter user information imposes an undue burden for at least three reasons.

Howard Geneslaw to Speak at NJICLE’s Land Use Basics Program

by

Posted in Development/Redevelopment

On June 7, 2012

Howard D. Geneslaw, Esq., a Director in the Gibbons Real Estate Development practice group, will speak at the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s (NJICLE) annual program “Land Use Basics” on June 13, 2012. Mr. Geneslaw’s topic will be redevelopment law. The all-day program is designed to provide practitioners with a roadmap for navigating the land use maze. All of the speakers serve on the Board of Directors of the Land Use Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

The New Philadelphia Zoning Code – Take Notice

by

Posted in Development/Redevelopment

On June 6, 2012

The revised Philadelphia Zoning Code will be effective before your Labor Day barbeque is over, and there is a smorgasbord of changes to digest. For instance, let’s take “notice,” a contentious issue the new Code seeks to resolve with procedural safeguards and requirements. A frequent area of conflict under the current (soon to be former) Code centered on interactions between developers and neighbors during the zoning/use approval process. Many times, a developer would complain that it did not know which neighborhood civic association represented a particular area, or that a civic association’s meeting schedule resulted in delays in the zoning hearing and approval process. Conversely, neighbors would charge that they were not given adequate notice of applications filed or permits issued with enough lead time to have meaningful input into the process. The revised Code seeks to balance the property owner/developer’s interest in certainty, both in terms of time required to complete the application process and identification of potentially interested parties, against the neighbors’ need for notice of the application and an opportunity to participate.

Merial v. Cipla: Finding Jurisdiction Over Foreign Patent Infringers

by

Posted in Patent

On June 5, 2012

In Merial Ltd. v. Cipla Ltd., the Federal Circuit recently reviewed an appeal from the Middle District of Georgia that found defendant Cipla (an Indian company) in contempt for violating an earlier injunction and finding co-defendant Velcera in contempt for acting in concert with Cipla to violate that injunction. The case arose from Cipla’s alleged infringement of Merial’s patents directed to flea and tick protection compositions, and Cipla’s underlying challenges to the District Court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over it.

Connect:

About Gibbons

With 200 attorneys, Gibbons is a leading law firm in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, DC, and Florida, ranked among the nation’s top 200 by The American Lawyer. More…

Subscribe

Archived Blog Posts

Categories