Communications & Media Law › Business Torts

Indemnity Prohibition

On January 1, 2013, new rules governing indemnification in construction contracts went into effect under SB 474 in California. The new law impacts commercial real estate, and public and residential projects. The big picture...more

Investment Management Legal + Regulatory Update -- May 2013

In This Issue: Regulatory Updates - SEC Allows Limited Use of Social Media for Public Disclosure; Federal Reserve Board Publishes a Final Rule Specifying when Nonbank Firms are “Predominantly Engaged in...more

California To Draw The Lines In Disparagement Liability

The California Supreme Court has granted review of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Hartford Casualty Insurance Company v. Swift Distribution, Inc., 210 Cal. App. 4th 915 (2d Dist. Ct. App. Oct. 29, 2012), review granted 152...more

What’s Really in your Beer Name: Trademark Protection for Craft Brewing Companies and Their Beers

Besides the unique taste of your beer, what more than anything else helps your consumers remember the source of that fantastic beer? Obviously, your company name and probably also the name of your beer. With hundreds of...more

SEC Charges City of Harrisburg with Fraud

On Monday, May 6, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with securities fraud "for its misleading public statements when its financial condition was deteriorating and...more

Why Should an Investor or Business Conduct an Asset Search?

If used properly and if conducted by a reputable asset search company, asset searches can be used as a valuable pre-investment tool for an investor, partnership, joint venture or other business entity before entering into a...more

Harrisburg Charged With Securities Fraud - Securities and Exchange Commission Says City Made Misleading Financial Statements

The inclusion of the public statements of an elected official in allegations of securities fraud could change the traditional relationship between the politicians and their constituency versus issuers and the bond market....more

Who Owns an Employee’s LinkedIn Account?

LinkedIn is a social media site catering exclusively to professionals with 200 million registered users in 200 countries. For many businesses, marketing via social media is a critical component to success. Employees use...more

Advertising News & Analysis - April 25, 2013

In this issue: - Venable Welcomes Randy Miller - FTC Survey Estimates Fraud Affected 25.6 Million Americans in 2011 - New Florida Law May Axe Charitable Promos, Cause Marketing Campaigns - What to...more

What’s That Charge on My Mobile Phone Bill? The FTC Wants to Know

“Cramming” – while it sounds like the experience of being in the middle row of a cross-country flight – actually refers to unauthorized charges on phone bills. Residential and business telecommunications customers have...more

Delaware Supreme Court Upholds Collateral Estoppel in Multiforum Litigation

The Delaware Supreme Court recently held that the dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit by a California federal court had a preclusive effect on a substantially similar suit pending in the Delaware Chancery Court against...more

Campmor, Inc. v. Brulant, LLC

Opinion Denying Daubert Motion in Limine to Exclude SEO Expert at Trial

Defendant Brulant moves in limine to preclude the testimony of Brian Cooper, Plaintiff Campmor’s expert witness on search engine optimization (“SEO”). The Court held a Daubert hearing on April 10, 2013. The motion is denied....more

Naffe v. Frey, et al.

Ruling DISMISSING Complaint under FRCP 12(b)(1) and Section 1983 claim under FRCP 12(b)(6) with Prejudice, etc.

Per Kenneth White, blogger at Popehat.com: http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/19/victory-for-blogger-patterico-in-free-speech-case/ : "Patrick Frey, also known as Patterico, has been living under the cloud of a frivolous,...more

Securities Class Actions Increasingly Target The C-Suite

According to a recently-published PricewaterhouseCoopers report, corporate executives are being named in an alarmingly high percentage of securities class action filings. In 2012, 94 percent of such filings explicitly named...more

Delaware Supreme Court Says No To Botox And No To Multi-Forum Litigation: Court Dismisses Derivative Suit Against Botox-Maker...

In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Court of Chancery in Pyott, et al. v. Louisiana Mun. Police Emp. Ret. Sys., et al., holding that a derivative suit against Botox-maker Allergan, Inc. should be...more

Boarding School Review, LLC v. Delta Career Education Corp.

Order GRANTING Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6)

Plaintiff operates a website called Community College Review. It received multiple cease and desist letters, which escalated in the severity of their threats, from counsel for certain institutions about which routine,...more

IP/Entertainment Law Weekly Case Update for Motion Picture Studios and Television Networks -- March 28, 2013

In This Issue: - Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., U.S. Supreme Court, March 19, 2013: In a 6-to-3 decision with far-reaching implications, U.S. Supreme Court holds that copyright “first sale” doctrine...more

SEC Charges Private Equity Firm, Former Executive, and Consultant for Improperly Soliciting Investments

On March 11, the SEC announced charges against a private equity firm, a former senior executive of the firm and an individual based solely on the allegation that the individual acted as an unregistered broker-dealer in...more

Who Owns Your Online Persona?

Originally published in The Recorder on March 22nd, 2013. Eagle v. Morgan, 2013-11-4303 (E.D. Pa. 2013), represents one of the first trials on the issue of who owns social media accounts: the individual employee who...more

Abbott Avoids Shake-Up: False Ad Suit over Ensure Dismissed

Yet another court has tasked plaintiffs at the pleading stage with providing scientific support for false advertising claims that are based on a product’s alleged failure to deliver its promised health benefits. On Friday, a...more

Is the FTC Decision in POM Wonderful a Game Changer? Only Time (and a Pending Appeal) Will Tell

The saga of POM Wonderful, and the ongoing fight over its advertising, is a topic we have covered quite a bit on this blog. While the consumer class action involving POM was recently dismissed, a recent decision by the...more

How Much "Competition", If Any, Is Required to Establish Standing in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases—the Supreme Court May Be...

Lanham Act false advertising law is largely consistent among the various federal circuit courts. However, one area of Lanham Act jurisprudence where the federal appellate courts do not see eye-to-eye concerns who has standing...more

IP/Entertainment Law Weekly Case Update for Motion Picture Studios and Television Networks -- March 14, 2013

In This Issue: - Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Viacom International, Inc., USDC C.D. California, March 8, 2013: District court grants Viacom’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Lanham Act and related state law claims for...more

Sustainability Claims Warrant Extra Caution

Originally published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal on February 28, 2013. National Public Radio recently ran a series on "sustainable" seafood claims which raised concern regarding the validity of certain...more

Defrauding Facebook: How One Man Almost Stole The World’s Largest Social Network

In October 2012 Paul Ceglia of New York was arrested on charges he forged documents in a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Ceglia had brought a much publicized lawsuit...more