Gibbons Law Alert
With the importance of Intellectual Property to a company’s bottom line, maximizing that value continues to command a prominent role. “Monetizing” an IP asset, such as a patent, is typically done by licensing, where the patent owner, or licensor, and the party wishing to use the patented technology, the prospective licensee, negotiate conditions and terms of use of the patented technology.
On the weekend of June 24-26, 2011, the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education (“NJICLE”) in cooperation with the New Jersey State Bar Association (“NJSBA”), and New Jersey Corporate Counsel Association, held its annual Environmental Law Section Forum Weekend (“the Forum”). Taking place in Avalon, New Jersey, the Forum featured three days of seminars covering various hot-button environmental topics including, Funding for Remediating Sites, Vapor Intrusion, the LSRP Program, Non-Governmental Organizations’ Perspectives on Issues and Resolutions, the well-known NJDEP v. Occidental case also referred to as the Lower Passaic River litigation, Climate Change, and rounded out the weekend with two programs on Ethical Issues including Alternative Fee Arrangements and Multi-Party Settlements.
The 2011 edition of the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business features 10 Gibbons practice areas and 18 individual attorneys ranked in the top tiers. The firm’s Employment and Labor Law Department and two of its attorneys in this area were ranked among the leaders in the state. Chambers annually rates the nation’s leading business lawyers and law firms through comprehensive interviews with top companies, attorneys, and business executives, plus extensive supplementary research.
The 2011 edition of the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business features 10 Gibbons practice areas and 18 individual attorneys ranked in the top tiers. The firm’s Intellectual Property Department and two of its attorneys in this area were ranked among the leaders in the state. Chambers annually rates the nation’s leading business lawyers and law firms through comprehensive interviews with top companies, attorneys, and business executives, plus extensive supplementary research. Chambers and client testimonials, excerpted from this year’s guide, include the following on the Gibbons Intellectual Property Department: “This team owes its reputation to the exceptional depth of experienced practitioners it harbors, including former in-house counsel and a swelling number of attorneys from larger, New York IP teams. ‘The firm has invested heavily in building its IP practice and is well placed to handle work of any complexity. They are very good value for money and incredibly responsive.’”
On June 17, 2011, United States District Court Judge Scheindlin issued a brief opinion and order withdrawing her February 7, 2011 opinion, which had held that certain metadata should be considered an “integral part” of an electronic record and must be produced by the government in responding to a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request. Our prior posting on this opinion can be found here. The Court withdrew its June 2011 opinion because “subsequent admissions” have revealed that the Court’s decision “was not based on a full and developed record.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 7 finalized a new rule aimed at reducing interstate air pollution across the eastern half of the country. The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) requires reductions in power plant emissions in 27 states that cause or contribute to ozone and/or fine particulate pollution in other states.
On June 22, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) published proposed rule changes in the Federal Register, which, if enacted, will dramatically accelerate the timeframes for union representation elections. One day earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (“DOL”) published proposed rules to narrow the interpretation of the term “advice” as it pertains to the persuader reporting requirements set forth within Section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (“LMRDA”). Together, these proposed changes create new burdens for employers who wish to communicate with employees about collective bargaining and workplace unionization. If enacted, the practical result of these proposed changes (whether intended or not) is that they will create tactical advantages for organized labor that will in turn help unions win an increased number of representation elections.
Next time you consider posting something on the Internet, think again as your identity could be revealed! Under the presumed cloak of anonymity, individuals often throw caution to the wind and voice controversial and unfiltered views on the Internet. Based upon a recent ruling by an Indiana State Court in a defamation case, however, the rules of engagement on the Internet may have changed.
On April 27, 2011, the Court denied Defendant Kolon Industries, Inc.’s (“Kolon”) motion for sanctions against E.I. du Pont De Nemours and Company (“DuPont”) for alleged spoliation of four employees’ e-mail accounts and documents in litigation regarding trade secret misappropriation, theft of confidential information and other related business torts. E.I. du Pont De Nemours and Co. v. Kolon Industries, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:09cv58, 2011 U.S. Dist. (E.D. Va. Apr. 27, 2011). In essence, the Court concluded there was no spoliation because DuPont’s efforts to implement and update litigation hold notices – as well as the company’s commitment to its electronic discovery obligations – were reasonable.
This week marks both the one-month mark since the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) annual RECON conference, as well as the end of the first half of 2011. RECON attendance surpassed 30,000 attendees for the first time since 2008, but still remains substantially off attendance levels reached several years ago. Although there was a fair amount of activity at this year’s show, particularly in the retail area on the second floor of South Hall, impressions of the climate for getting deals done were mixed, much like the economic indicators which have been circulating in recent months. Nevertheless, cautious optimism seems to be a fairly common theme in the retail sector for the remainder of 2011, and somewhat more enthusiastic optimism for 2012 and beyond.