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Stop That Wrecking Ball – Requests for Emergency Injunctive Relief

Arthur Boylan December 8, 2015

As long as there is business litigation, there will be a need for emergency injunctive relief to prevent the proverbial wrecking ball from smashing through your client’s business. Across virtually all businesses, situations calling for emergency injunctive relief will occur from time to time. For example, when an employee departs for the competition in blatant violation of a non-compete agreement,

Your Holiday Soundtrack

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young December 8, 2015

The Copyrights of Christmas Christmas has a musical tradition like no other holiday. Celebrating the season with songs and carols dates back centuries. Now, the close association of music and Christmas extends to today’s most popular communication medium – the Internet. Sharing content using social media has become part of the fabric of our holiday celebrations. When you share a

The Unintended Gift: What Every Client Should Know

Doreen Yaffa December 8, 2015

Most people get married truly believing that it will be forever. Divorce statistics, however, indicate that “forever” is not always the case. Family law practitioners usually recommend that couples protect themselves by entering into a contract which spells out exactly what each party is entitled to in the event of divorce – pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements. Although this is the

“There Ain’t No Sanity Clause”: Surviving the Holidays During Divorce

Sonya DuBree November 24, 2015

“All in all, it was a pretty exciting Christmas, what with the relatives and the presents and the fun and the cops and Aunt Hazel’s dog blowing up in our living room.”This opening line to John Hughes’ short story “Christmas ‘59” (and the inspiration for National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation”) so perfectly captures the melee of holiday dysfunction. Add divorce and

Guaranties of Leases

Norma J. Williams November 14, 2015

As protection against tenant defaults, commercial landlords rely primarily on three devices: security deposits, letters of credit and guaranties of the leases. This article will focus primarily on the third, from the perspective of the landlord. A guaranty is a promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another (California Civil Code Section 2787). Key considerations with lease

“Associational” Discrimination in California Employment: The New Frontier?

Stephen Danz November 14, 2015

California employees are protected against discrimination based on their own protected conditions, including age (over 40), sex, pregnancy, race, national origin, physical or mental condition, religion or having an industrial injury (Labor Code 132a). (California Government Code Section 12960, et seq.) A more difficult issue presents itself when the employee is “associated” with a protected individual but does not have

Utah Improves Putative Father’s Rights

Paul MacArthur November 10, 2015

Prior to a recent statutory change, Section 110 of the Utah Adoption Act provided a practitioner with all of the notice requirements in relation to an unwed biological father (or putative father) of a newborn child being placed for adoption. Under section 110, a putative father was entitled to notice of adoption proceedings only if he had, prior to the

Inquiring Minds Want to Know – Secrecy at the USPTO

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young November 10, 2015

Let’s talk about confidentiality, in the context of filings made by applicants at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). When are such filings publicly available? What can be learned from such filings? Why should you and your clients care? Patents All original U.S. patent filings are confidential, at least for a while. Design patent applications – No information

Infringement or Fair Use … It Depends

Daniel Thomson October 21, 2015

Copyright law can be a labyrinth, an infringement minotaur waiting to jump on the unwary. Your head may spin when trying to determine infringement, non-infringement and fair use. Fair use, or the limited unauthorized reproduction of copyright material, is a legal doctrine codified in The Copyright Act of 1976. 17 U.S.C. § 107 states, “[T]he fair use of a copyrighted

Regulatory Enforcement Actions: A Special Brand of Commercial Litigation

Christopher Parrington October 21, 2015

In today’s world, businesses and their owners need to be prepared for legal threats from various sources. For example, competitors may engage in various conduct to obtain an unfair business advantage. Former employees may attempt to compete directly with their former employer in violation of restrictive covenants. Business owners may have partners that cause more harm than good to the

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