-
-
Case Review
-
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
Category Archives: Business Litigation
Last fall, the National Association of Manufacturers (“NAM”) filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington DC opposing the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) and its new “posting requirement” rule. The rule requires most businesses to put up a poster informing employees of their right to organize and file complaints against their employer. While NAM opposed the rule as an overreach of the NLRB’s powers, the rule will be taking effect in 2012. The NLRB first pushed the implementation date to January 31, 2012, and then to the date it is currently at, April 30, 2012. The later dates are to give the federal court time to hear the legal challenges from NAM and to make a ruling. The poster at the center of the debate is an 11 inch by 17 inch “Notice of Employee Rights.” The notice informs employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act,…
Read More »
Google received some favorable news at the end of 2011 when it learned that the US Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) turned down many of Oracle’s patent claims. Oracle had sued Google in 2010, claiming that Google’s Android operating system violated several Java patents that Oracle holds. Google made the argument that we often hear in intellectual property disputes that a company (Oracle, according to Google) was actually trying to stifle innovation by filing “bogus patents” to prevent people from encroaching on their work. The PTO rejected 17 out of the 21 claims that Oracle had made in its patent application. Claims are one of the more important parts of a patent application, for they determine the scope of the protection that a company can receive. The claim is exactly what the invention does and how it does it; anything outside this claim does not receive protection, so companies need…
Read More »
In a construction contract, how a contractor handles dangerous or raw materials can have important consequences. Unsafe practices could lead to the shutting down of facilities, substantial fines from government regulatory agencies, or business torts like breach of contract or liability for dangerous materials hazards. Contractors and sub-contractors should always take the time to spell out precise responsibilities, risks and costs amongst all of the parties involved in the construction contract. A few of the areas that businesses in construction projects often include in their contracts include: Who is responsible for testing for hazardous materials (for example, in older buildings, the presence of asbestos requires certified testing and removal) Which party is responsible for unexpected site conditions, which can add thousands of dollars of unforeseen costs to a project To limit liability, businesses also need to adhere to state and federal laws and regulations by ensuring that they properly train…
Read More »