Rest easy, trademark owners! While the UK has voted to leave the European Union, it is expected to take at least two years for that to occur. Here is what trademark owners need to know. Read more.
June 24, 2016
In the US, attorneys' fees generally are not available to the winning party unless authorized by statute or the parties have agreed to permit a fee award. Copyright law is one area where fee shifting is permitted, and courts have discretion to award a "reasonable" fee to the winning party. How do courts decide? Read more.
June 24, 2016
Anyone who has ever had to litigate a dispute knows how important the attorney-client privilege is. Read more.
June 16, 2016
Food advertising rules are in flux, and we have written about the FTC's recent focus on "natural" claims. Here are two more food advertising developments. Read more.
June 10, 2016
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced last week its plan to host a public workshop on September 15, 2016 called "Putting Disclosures to the Test." Read more.
May 31, 2016
As we noted in an alert last week, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 ("DTSA") creates a private right of action to sue in federal court for trade secret misappropriation, and provides for remedies including actual damages and attorneys' fees. Read more.
May 25, 2016
A surge of recent lawsuits brought under a 30 year-old New Jersey consumer protection law has national marketers and their lawyers huddling. Here's a summary of how the law works and why there's exposure for marketers everywhere. Read more.
May 20, 2016
Important changes to federal overtime rules are right around the corner. Read more.
May 9, 2016
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, which could set the stage for greater clarity in copyright law in the fashion and design industries. Read more.
May 4, 2016
On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck a blow to nonresident lawyers looking to practice in New York State. Read more.
April 26, 2016
On April 1, 2016, the New York State ("NYS") estate tax exclusion amount increased to $4,187,500, further narrowing the gap between the NYS estate tax exclusion amount and the Federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer ("GST") tax exemption amounts ($5,450,000 as of January 1, 2016). Read more.
April 25, 2016
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") joined the widely publicized "natural" products debate by issuing four settlements and bringing a new complaint relating to misleading "all natural" or "100% natural" advertising claims. Read more.
April 13, 2016
Here is some news about an important new resource for mobile app developers working in the healthcare space. Read more.
April 12, 2016
On April 4, 2016, Governor Cuomo signed into law amendments to the New York Labor and Workers' Compensation laws that raised the New York State hourly minimum wage to $15, and provided for paid-family-leave time for most employees. For some New York businesses, the first deadline for compliance is December 31, 2016. Read more.
April 7, 2016
On Monday DraftKings, Inc. and FanDuel, Inc., the two largest providers of Daily Fantasy Sports ("DFS") in the US, announced an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (the "NYAG") in connection with the ongoing DFS litigation. Read more.
March 23, 2016
The Ninth Circuit declined to review its earlier opinion in Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. that copyright holders must consider fair use before seeking to remove allegedly infringing content from websites such as YouTube and Facebook. Read more.
March 18, 2016
Less than three months after issuing guidance to marketers on native advertising, the FTC has brought and settled its first native advertising case against national retailer Lord & Taylor. Read more.
March 15, 2016
On February 2, 2016, EU and US authorities reached an agreement in principle on a new framework for transatlantic data transfers, dubbed the "Privacy Shield." Read more.
March 14, 2016
Computer hardware maker ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. ("ASUS") recently settled FTC charges that the company failed to take steps to secure the software on its routers, putting hundreds of thousands of consumers at risk. Read more.
March 7, 2016
When can a marketer claim that its products are "Made in the USA" if the products contain foreign materials? A recent FTC action provides guidance. Here's what happened. Read more.
February 10, 2016
There's important news for marketers and agencies considering the Olympic Games in Rio: the deadline for non-sponsors to request an IOC Rule 40 "waiver" is January 27, 2016. Here's a review of Rule 40 and what you need to know to keep your Olympic-themed campaigns on track. Read more.
January 19, 2016
In a follow-up to its settlement with Focus Education, LLC in January of last year, the FTC recently entered into a $2 million settlement with Lumos Labs over claims that advertising and marketing for its Lumosity "brain training" games misled customers about cognitive benefits. Read more.
January 11, 2016
Two app developers recently paid a total of $360,000 to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") that they violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") Rule. The cases make clear that children's privacy online remains an FTC focus. Here's what happened. Read more.
December 29, 2015
Law firms often struggle to determine when the rules of professional conduct permit representation of clients who compete in the marketplace. When is it OK, for example, to represent clients with competing patents, trademarks, or copyrights? A recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case provides important guidance for IP lawyers -- particularly those representing clients with patents. Read more.
December 28, 2015
Two years after conducting a workshop to study native advertising, the FTC on December 22nd released long-awaited guidance that all marketers and publishers need to review. Read more.
December 23, 2015
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