Related Litigation Research Articles

Infringing Sale of Trademarks As Keyword Triggers for Internet Advertisements

On April 3, 2009 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc., 562 F.3d 123 (2 nd Cir. 2009)(Rescuecom). It represents a major victory for brand owners in their battle to prevent the unauthorized of trademarks as keyword triggers for internet advertising. The Second Circuit found that Google's practice of both recommending the purchase of and actually selling Rescuecom's trademark as a keyword search term to paying advertisers in Google's AdWords and Keyword Suggestion Tool programs constitutes an actionable use in commerce for purposes of the Lanbam Act. In so ruling, the Second Circuit distinguished and greatly narrowed its earlier appellate decision in 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. WhenU.com, Inc., 414 F.3d 400 (2d. Cir. 2005) (1-800 Contacts) and provided an in-depth Appendix on how the use in commerce phrase should be interpreted and applied to infringing activities under the Lanham Act. This Court of Appeals ruling eliminates a significant split between the Second Circuit and other Circuits over the use in commerce issue and is likely to have a significant effect on keyword advertising practices and related litigation. The article discusses the significance of the Second Circuit's Rescuecom ruling and comments on its likely effect on litigation relating to the of trademarks as keyword triggers for internet advertising.

A Comparative Study of Shrink-Wrap License

This paper presents the dilemma of e-commence age that huge amount of computer –related litigation challenges the law of different countries on how to appropriately resolve these difficulties. Through this paper, the author tries to compare UCITA and EU with China’s approaches, seeks for guidance or inspiration for policymakers in China. The author seriously examines the conflicting interests and problems faced by both software suppliers and users. By conclusion, the author believes that there exists a number of grey areas and an urgent need for new judicial interpretation in China.

Is ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Philosophy Relevant to Criminal Justice? - Plea Bargains as Mediation Process between the Accused and the Prosecution

The defense counsel in a rape case makes his way to the District Attorney's offices in order to work out a possible plea bargain. His client maintains that the sex was fully consensual, while the District Attorney claims that he has substantial evidence to the contrary. His client's position is that he is innocent of the charge and is entitled to a full acquittal, while the District Attorney is demanding that the full weight of the law be brought to bear against him, including a hefty custodial sentence. Defense counsel knows from reading the evidential material that an integral part of his client's posturing and that of the District Attorney merely amount to rhetoric for the purposes of conducting negotiations, and that it would be an uphill battle to prove either of the two extreme positions. Defense counsel is experienced enough to know that there is insufficient evidence in the case to convict his client of rape, but the chances of an acquittal are also unclear. The acceptable solution in his view is to reach a plea bargain, according to which his client will admit to a minor sex offense in return for a relatively light sentence, enabling the prosecution therefore also to feel vindicated. With this aim in mind, the accused's attorney makes his way to the District Attorney's offices. The client also needs convincing that this is the best deal for him in the circumstances, or at least it amounts to the lesser of two evils.A criminal case of such kind, far from being uncommon, is the standard practice of defense counsels in the overwhelming number of cases . In this article, it will be argued that defense counsel's function in such instances is identical to that of a mediator, seeking as he does to reconcile the positions of the accused and the prosecution. Within this framework, the plea bargain should be seen as part of the broad conception of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) which first made its appearance at the late 1970's.An analysis of plea bargains in the western world as part of the broader concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution actually shows that it is the defense counsel, rather than the court or the other parties to the issue, who functions as mediator, assessing the interests of the parties caught up in the dispute . This also gives expression to the philosophy of privatization upon which mediation is based. The tactics of influence and creating an impression of force employed by the defense counsel in plea bargains are identical in every way to those used by mediators. The methods of persuasion, use of pressure, delineation of the debate, manipulations and numerous other parameters are identical to those employed by the mediator. As a result, if indeed the mediation function of the defense counsel in plea bargaining may be recognized, it will be argued that this has implications, rooted in applying the accumulated experience of the mediator in private litigation in relation also to plea bargains in criminal cases.

Market reaction to patent infringement litigations in the information technology industry

Intellectual property portfolios that include unique inventions and discoveries are potentially inimitable resources that provide strategic leverage to Information Technology (IT) firms. The increasing patent related litigations in the IT industry, and the high costs associated with litigations make this an economically significant activity. Taking a market oriented view to this issue we investigate the economic impact of patent infringement litigation on both the plaintiff and the defendant firms in IT industry. Event study methodology is used to assess the effect of the litigation on the stock market returns around the date of litigation announcement as well as the date of settlement/termination. Our results suggest that the news of patent infringement litigation was unfavorably accepted in the stock market for the defendants. On the other hand, abnormal returns for plaintiff firms around litigation announcement date as well as settlement/termination date were significantly positive. We find evidence to the effect that patent litigations are not zero-sum games since combined abnormal returns for the plaintiff and defendant firms are negative. Patents belonging to the electronic and electric categories are more likely to influence market returns, whereas computer and communications patent categories are less likely to do so. Patent importance (as measured by patent citations) is found to be an important contributor to market's evaluation of a patent litigation's impact.

Lowering the Bar: Privileged Court Filings as Substitutes for Press Releases in the Court of Public Opinion

In the civil lawsuit against Kobe Bryant for sexual assault, the judge admonished lawyers for engaging in “public relations litigation”—the use of pleadings to attract media attention and try cases in the court of public opinion. This article examines the legal ramifications of such practices and the doctrines of law that encourage some lawyers and litigants to use pleadings as a form of press release. These include the law of republication and the fair report and judicial privileges as well as the power of judges to gag trial participants. The article concludes that courts have adequate tools to control such practices, and lawyers and public relations professionals can responsibly use court documents to communicate with the public, so long as they do not abuse the judicial process.

Risk management, adverse events and litigation in vitreoretinal surgery

Using data from the UK National Reporting and Learning System and the National Health Service Litigation Authority, this paper assesses trends in patient safety incidents and litigation in relation to ophthalmic surgery generally and vitreoretinal (VR) surgery in particular. Examples of human error and equipment-related incidents in VR surgery are discussed. Data from incident reporting and litigation should be interpreted with care as these are influenced by many factors. An open culture, improved reporting and prioritisation of patient safety will help provide further insight into the prevalence and causes of patient safety incidents in VR surgery.

Anti-Suit Injunctions in Cross-Border Insolvency: A Restatement

English law on anti-suit injunctions in international commercial litigation has reached its 21st century adulthood, but the law on anti-suit injunctions in international insolvency litigation is still in its 19th century infancy. This Article attempts to rationalise the full implications of the jurisprudence of anti-suit injunction in the non-bankruptcy related litigation for bankruptcy litigation, and to map out the function of anti-suit injunctions in international insolvency litigation. In addition, it will be shown that the comity theory underpinning the modern case law is unsound. Although not meant to be a comparative study proper, this Article draws substantially on the US experience, including 304 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

New developments concerning negligent training

Provides details of new developments in negligent training by researching articles in current trade magazines over the last six months. Gives details of employee related litigation that have recently been in the headlines and states any appropriate recommendations or preventative measures to help employers combat employee related litigation. Covers subjects including age, pay, and hiring methods. Concludes that employers must constantly monitor developments in the law to enable their policies to remain up to date and minimise risk.

Fear of Oversight: The Fundamental Failure of Business-like Government

This article discusses the National Performance Review's (NPR's) broad-reaching effort to reinvent government by making it more businesslike, focusing on its successful effort to reform the Federal procurement process. The article shows that the reformed system couples greatly increased buyer discretion with dramatically reduced oversight of government spending - both internal and external. This article asserts that this combination erodes the public's confidence in the procurement system, violates established norms, and is antithetical to a host of Congressional mandates and policies. More particularly, the article provides empirical evidence of the dramatic, sustained reduction in government contract related litigation during the 1990's. The article expresses concern because the trend coincided with two significant changes: (1) a large-scale Congressionally-mandated reduction in acquisition personnel, which materially reduced internal oversight, and (2) the sweeping NPR re-invention initiatives, which considerably increased purchaser discretion. The article offers a provisional list of explanations for the decrease in litigation. It asserts that, in this context, litigation - a form of external monitoring initiated by private attorneys general - is a public good. Reduced litigation relating to the award and performance of the government's contracts threatens the public's trust in the reinvention agenda. Litigants, in this context, serve the public interest while pursuing their own self interest. Moreover, the need for the private sector to provide this service increases as internal oversight decreases. The article suggests that, despite the success of procurement reform, the current paradigm elevates its facially attractive norms - efficiency and discretion - at the expense of other established, yet apparently undervalued, norms that guide the procurement system, e.g., transparency, integrity, and competition. It cautions that businesslike government has diluted existing internal and external oversight mechanisms and threatened sustained public confidence in the procurement system.

Assessing Causation in Breast Implant Litigation: The Role of Science Panels

LAURAL L. HOOPER [*] JOE S. CECIL [**] THOMAS E. WILLGING [***] I INTRODUCTION While the idea of court-appointed experts has been supported by individuals concerned with the courts' ability to assess scientific and technical evidence, [1] it has often been resisted by attorneys and judges who confront such evidence. [2] An increasing number of recent cases, however, suggest that court-appointed experts are gaining acceptance, even though appointments remain rare. [3] Such growing acceptance may be due to the increasingly difficult nature of scientific and technical evidence, [4] or to Justice Stephen G. Breyer's recent endorsement of such experts in General Electric Co. v. Joiner. [5] Moreover, recent programs to aid judges in locating qualified experts who are willing to serve will likely encourage further appointments. [6] Nevertheless, the appointment of such experts remains sufficiently rare that problems are difficult to anticipate. In two recent cases--Hall v. Baxter Healthcare Corp. [7] and In re Silicone Gel Breast Implants Products Liability Litigation [8]--federal judges appointed panels of scientific experts to help assess conflicting scientific testimony regarding causation of systemic injuries by silicone gel breast implants. This article will describe the circumstances that gave rise to the appointments, the procedures followed in making the appointments and reporting to the courts, and the reactions of the participants in the proceedings. It will also offer specific suggestions for improving the use of such panels of appointed science experts. Expert panels may be developed and used in a variety of ways; these approaches illustrate only two forms that such panels may take. Part II offers a brief overview of the silicone gel breast implant product liability litigation and the two cases in which science panels were appointed. [9] Subsequent parts compare the procedures used to select the experts, the instruction of the expert panels in their tasks, the preparation of the panels' reports, the depositions and testimony of the panel members, and the costs of the two programs. Part VIII provides a preliminary assessment of the effect of each program based on the participants' impressions and citations to the reports in related litigation. Finally, Part IX summarizes participants' overall reactions to the two procedures and suggests issues for judges to consider when appointing future panels. II OVERVIEW OF SILCONE GEL BREAST IMPLANT LITIGATION Claims of systemic injuries arising from silicone gel breast implants have presented some of the most complex scientific evidence issues in the federal courts. [10] Following the removal of silicone gel breast implants from the market in 1992 by the Food and Drug Administration, more than 400,000 cases were filed in federal and state courts alleging injuries arising from leakage or rupture of the shell that encased the silicone gel. The most troublesome allegation concerned the extent to which the silicone gel caused or exacerbated connective tissue diseases or immune system dysfunction. [11] Research on these issues was being reported even as the cases were being litigated. [12] Moreover, an assessment of this research required an understanding of several areas of science, including epidemiology, toxicology, immunology, rheumatology, chemistry, and statistics. The emerging nature of this research and differing research methodologies have made such cases among the most difficult ever presented in federal c ourts. [13] The federal courts have responded to this wave of difficult cases by consolidating the cases for pretrial proceedings. In 1992; the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred all silicone gel breast implant product liability cases filed in federal courts to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama before Chief Judge Sam C. …

Excrescent lesion: a diagnosis of lateral talar exostosis in chronically symptomatic sprained ankles.

The excrescent lesion is a symptomatic anterolateral exostosis at the insertion of the anterior talofibular ligament. It is found in patients with chronic ankle pain after inversion injuries. It is most reliably diagnosed by computed tomography scan, but physical examination and oblique radiographs are suggestive in most cases. A technique for surgical excision and, in some cases, repair of the anterior talofibular ligament is described. Five patients having a history of inversion sprains of the ankle, without significant symptomatic improvement for a mean of 21 months after the injury, were evaluated. None had significant instability in the ankle or subtalar joints, clinically or with stress radiographs. The diagnosis of excrescent lesion was confirmed with computed tomography scan in all five patients. Each underwent excision of the exostosis. Removal of the exostosis produced laxity of the anterior talofibular ligament in four of the patients and required an additional modified Broström procedure to tighten the anterior talofibular ligament. Clinical results were evaluated at a mean of 33 months postoperatively, using the Ankle-Hindfoot scale from the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. The three patients without pending claims for Workers' Compensation or related litigation all had excellent results (mean score, 93 points). Two patients with active legal claims had fair and poor results (mean score, 53 points).

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity

The first book-length study of civil rights litigation from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity fills a void in the scholarly literature on American courts and poltics in the post Brown versus Board of Education era.

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity. By Stephen L. Wasby. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1995. 421p. $65.00 cloth, $22.50 paper.

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity. By Stephen L. Wasby. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1995. 421p. $65.00 cloth, $22.50 paper.

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity.

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity.

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity.Stephen L. Wasby

Race Relations Litigation in an Age of Complexity.Stephen L. Wasby

Race relations litigation in an age of complexity

Race relations litigation in an age of complexity

Current Developments in the BCCI Affair

Since the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) there has been a plethora of BCCI related litigation. This article considers the latest developments in the BCCI saga while focusing on the current state of litigation in both the UK and the USA. It appears that creditors of BCCI will finally be receiving some of their money which was lost as a result of the closure of BCCI on 5th July, 1991. A compensation package requiring the approval of courts in England, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg, the three jurisdictions where BCCI headquarters operated from has finally received the requisite approval (the High Court approved the compensation scheme on 19th December, 1994; a Cayman Islands' court gave its approval on 13th January, 1995; a Luxembourg court approved the package on 31st January, 1995). Under the scheme BCCI's majority shareholders, the Government and ruling family of Abu Dhabi, must pay $1.8bn towards a global settlement fund over a period of three years. The courts' decision states that Abu Dhabi will be subject to the same terms as other creditors and will not be absolved from any future legal action brought by creditors as a result of the present compensation agreement. The initial payment of $1.55bn is calculated to reimburse some 250,000 creditors with payments equal to 20 per cent of their losses by this summer, however, such estimates are subject to a separate agreement worth $425m between BCCI's liquidators and the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia which will not be decided upon by Luxembourg courts until 14th March at the earliest; if this deal is delayed the first payment could drop to 15 per cent. It is anticipated that the final dividend that creditors can expect to receive will be between 20 and 40 per cent, however, this is far from guaranteed due to on‐going litigation and problems in assessing the total number of creditors' claims.

Medical Negligence Litigation, Claims Handling and Risk Management

From the point of view of a medical defence organisation, the author discusses the British system for civil litigation in relation to health care, assessing the scale of the problem and the factors that bear on it. He outlines the place of the medical defence organisations and of health authorities within the present structure, with particular regard to claims handling and risk management.

Litigation involving medical faculty and academic medical centers, 1950-1991.

An analysis is presented of 240 cases of litigation involving medical faculty, medical schools, and academic medical centers reported over the period 1950-1991. The number of reported cases increased dramatically over the study period in association with the expansion of the national medical educational enterprise. These cases can be conveniently divided by the issues they dealt with into three broad areas: general administration (89 cases), clinical affairs (108 cases), and research issues (43 cases). Cases of litigation related to general administration were most often concerned with the hiring, promotion and/or tenure, and discharge of faculty, with nearly half of these alleging discrimination. General administrative disputes also arose over allocation of departmental resources and responsibilities, faculty conduct, Veterans Affairs, relationships, employee benefits, system-wide discrimination, and collective bargaining. Courts generally supported the exercise of administrative discretion, yet examined procedures carefully. Litigation related to clinical affairs increased dramatically in recent years. Issues litigated reflect the complexity of the existing academic health care system and environment: sovereign immunity and/or malpractice, practice plans, staff privileges, indemnification, access to peer review records or other records, and conduct of practice. Outcomes of clinically related litigation through 1991 indicate substantial leeway for medical faculty, medical schools, and academic medical centers to innovate and advance their patient mission. Litigation related to medical research also accelerated recently. Issues litigated involved grants and/or personnel management, research risks, commercialization, research funding, ethics, and research animals. Litigation has paralleled (1) federal policy initiatives designed to stimulate collaboration between industry and academia and (2) the growth of regulations designed to monitor policy areas affecting research. The exposure of academic medical administrators and faculty to litigation has increased in the last 40 years. Medical schools and academic medical centers should take active steps to reduce future risks of litigation.

Safety standards, requirements, and litigation in relation to building use and safety, especially safety from falls involving stairs

In most countries falls (from stairs) are the leading category of non-traffic accidents in terms of serious injuries and fatalities. Impetus for changes in building safety standards and codes comes from accident statistics, research findings and litigation cases. The interaction of societal factors is illustrated extensively through case studies of specific accidents, ensuing litigation, and changes to building codes and safety standards. Revisions to some standards are narrowing the gap between generally applicable minimum requirements and the specific expectations to meet by designers, owners and managers in particular situations. Such investigations, along with formal research findings, also point out serious flaws in longstanding accident reduction programs promoted by national safety organizations. Traditional cliches and slogans must be replaced by design and retrofit interventions based on a human factors appreciation of the major role of environmentally triggered human error. Openness of standards and codes revision processes (to the participation of all interested organizations and individuals) helps to balance the conflicting interests of those concerned with improved safety and with the preservation of status quo in relation to building technology. Stairs are the example of the contradiction. Finally, drawing especially on North American research, a distinction is made between accident prevention and injury reduction in relation to falls from stairs. Both approaches are needed to reduce significantly the toll of casualties from falls from stairs. These result in annual societal cost, in the U.S., of over 2000000000 dollars — a cost equalling the annual cost of construction of the stair facilities.