The Spotlight strives to provide a forum to discuss the latest news and compelling issues impacting fiduciaries and those to whom fiduciaries owe duties. Whether you are an officer, director, trustee, beneficiary, trust...more
3/21/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Business Litigation ,
Business Succession ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management
Choosing the right business structure is critical for the operation of a business. General and limited partnerships are common business structures for those wanting to enter business together. While both partnerships offer...more
3/19/2025
/ Business Entities ,
Business Ownership ,
Dispute Resolution ,
General Partnerships ,
Investment ,
Liability ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Partnership Agreements ,
Profits ,
Risk Management ,
Small Business
The intersection of trademark law and creative expression continues to evolve, most recently in Haas Automation, Inc. v. Guenther Steiner and Ten Speed Press, 2024 WL 4440914 (C.D. Cal. September 25, 2024). Haas provides...more
Online shopping has become increasingly popular in recent years. E-commerce sales surpassed $6.5 trillion in 2023 and are expected to total over $8.1 trillion by 2026. Convenience of product variety and online competition...more
7/8/2024
/ Business Litigation ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
DMCA ,
E-Commerce ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Retailers ,
Liability ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Safe Harbors ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
Fiduciaries, such as trustees, financial advisors, corporate directors, and fund managers are legally bound to act in the best interests of their beneficiaries and/or clients. Duties owed by fiduciaries, including duties of...more
Corporate mergers and acquisitions can disproportionately affect minority shareholders and members of closed corporations. Those effects may include the dilution of the value of shares, the loss of the holder’s voting rights,...more
Scores of retailers have closed stores, reduced hours, changed business models overnight, and continue to generally mull how to deal with employee and customer safety and health issues. Governments are imposing a patchwork of...more
As shopping via mobile devices captures a greater share of e-commerce, experts are making bold predictions about the role cell phones will play in this year’s holiday shopping landscape....more
12/13/2018
/ Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet Retailers ,
Mobile Devices ,
Opt-Outs ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Tracking ,
Retailers ,
Target ,
Wal-Mart
Brick-and-mortar retailers are on a constant quest to compete with ever-growing e-commerce outlets. Some strategies for engaging consumers are unconventional, but others seem like downright science fiction....more
On June 20, 2018 the United States Supreme Court held in South Dakota v. Wayfair that states can collect sales tax from online retailers. ...more
7/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Commerce Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Internet Retailers ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Quill ,
Retail Market ,
Reversal ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SCOTUS ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
Substantial Nexus
As commerce has increasingly moved online, retailers are finding new ways to meet the customer service needs of their customers remotely, including conversational commerce. ...more
As drone technology improves, drone applications are changing the retail landscape. Drones can be used inside of retail spaces for a variety of purposes, including security, advertising, item tracking and in-store delivery....more
Subscription services are becoming increasingly popular. Once offered by e-commerce retailers, subscription services have caught the attention of traditional retailers....more
Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear South Dakota’s challenge in South Dakota v. Wayfair to the 1992 Supreme Court decision in Quill v. North Dakota, which requires a physical presence test to...more
In the age of instant gratification, retail giants are turning to technology to fill customers’ orders as quickly as possible. The once-unimaginably-fast two-day shipping standard is starting to seem outdated and sluggish....more
Retail giants Walmart and Amazon have recently announced new in-home and in-trunk delivery formats that could revolutionize the way we receive consumer goods, while also raising several potential legal issues....more
Online sales platforms have made shopping more convenient for consumers around the world. Consumers can purchase goods abroad and receive them within days. This convenience, however, has not come without controversy....more
Online sales tax is one of many tax-related issues that Congress is currently considering. (Stick with us, this shouldn’t be too boring.) Under the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Quill v. North Dakota (504 U.S. 298), an...more
Retailers have relied on static mall maps for decades to convey store location, including the familiar “you are here” mall maps. Today, shopping centers are overhauling mall signage in favor of interactive digital signs that...more
If you’ve read any headlines lately about the state of retail, you’ve likely noticed that headwinds are leading to downsizing and debt restructuring. Yet, studies show that consumer confidence is high, and overall retail...more
Despite the advent of online shopping, many consumers still do not feel comfortable buying clothes online given the risk of receiving clothes that do not fit. This lack of confidence hurts fashion e-retailers, as well as...more
Amazon continues its claims to further innovation in the on-demand delivery space. Its latest patent attempts to give a “lift” to that quest. The USPTO very recently awarded Amazon a patent for giant warehouse blimps that...more
3/14/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
Innovation ,
Patents ,
Project Delivery Methods ,
Retail Market ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
USPTO
The rise of Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigation in the past decade has been staggering. From just 14 cases in 2007, the number of TCPA-related filings has exploded to 4,860 in 2016 — a total that is expected to...more
2/23/2017
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Gym Memberships ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
Spam ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages
For the U.K., Amazon drone delivery has left the realm of fantasy and become a reality. On December 14, Amazon announced that it successfully completed its first delivery using an automated drone in Cambridge in the U.K. (In...more
1/11/2017
/ Airspace ,
Amazon Marketplace ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
EU ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The upcoming holiday weekend brings with it Black Friday and Cyber Monday, dates that have become shorthand for the different ways people shop. While e-commerce and physical retailers’ sales are still not comparable, many...more