The Supreme Court has posted the oral argument transcripts in the two business cases we wrote about a few days ago (post here):
Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega, S.A., No. 08-1423 (U.S.)
AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, No. 09-893 (U.S.)
Intellectual Property
Ready, Fire, Aim
By Barry Barnett on
Doing things out of proper sequence can require a do-over. But in law, as elsewhere, the do-over may come too late.
Just ask Abraxis, a drug maker that today lost a lawsuit because the company it bought patents from didn't own them at the time.
Abraxis signed an Asset Purchase Agreement with AstraZeneca in April 2006. …
Big Business Cases Hit the Supreme Court Next Week: Copyright and Class Arbitration
By Barry Barnett on
On Nov. 8 and 9, the Supreme Court will take up two cases that hold promise and peril for businesses. Blawgletter sees more cause for businesses to hope than fear.
The first of the pair, Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega, S.A., No. 08-1423 (U.S.), deals with the reach of copyright law's "first sale" doctrine. …
Ninth Circuit Raps Counsel for “Hardball Tactics”
By Barry Barnett on
The Ninth Circuit today took pains to express its disdain for counsel's role in goading a district judge into Kafkaesque rulings.
Holding that the district court abused its discretion in denying a request for more time and erred in granting summary judgment (and awarding almost $250,000 in attorney's fees!) against the plaintiff, who claimed to have…
What the Election Means for Business Lawsuits: More of Them
By Barry Barnett on
Lots of people want to know what voters meant just now when they mostly, in lots of places, swept ins from office and replaced them with outs. Did they want to vent anger? Express anxiety? Demand a new path? Something else?
Blawgletter suspects people wanted to say A Great Many Things, often all at the…
Claim by Association: Lanham Act Bars Vendor You Don’t Like from Saying You Do
By Barry Barnett on
You own stores that sell clothes. A vendor persuades you to buy name-brand jeans from it. You learn that the vendor fooled you. The denims in fact came from a counterfeiter. And so you cancel the contract.
Then you find out that the vendor has gone around telling people that it counts you as a "satisfied customer". …
Inventor Must Conceive in U.S.A., Federal Circuit Rules
By Barry Barnett on
Russian scientists come up with a way to make an ozone-friendly agent that helps prepare materials useful in making units that store hot or cold. They tell the American company that hired them about the results of their study. And the U.S. firm starts using the process that their Russian colleagues discovered.
Does the U.S. outfit qualify…
HP Hits Hurd with Inevitable Disclosure Suit, Demands Injunction
By Barry Barnett on
Fresh from firing its CEO Mark Hurd, Hewlett-Packard has now sued him for going to work for Oracle.
So reports The Bottom Line blog. The post includes a link to the Civil Complaint for Breach of Contract and Threatened Misappropriation of Trade Secrets.
Something about inevitable disclosure of trade secrets. Paragraph 46 of…
False Marking Claims Get Another Boost from Federal Circuit
By Barry Barnett on
Blawgletter recalls early on hearing about "the bow tie rule". People who wear bow ties, the rule supposes, want to stand out. They regard themselves as unique. They desire others to see visible proof of their disdain for norms, wardrobe-wise and otherwise. And you don't want them on your jury. They'll tend to disagree with other…
Second Circuit Ponders Good Will, Discretionary Bonuses
By Barry Barnett on
You sell your company, including its "good will", to a competitor. Your buyer promises in the Purchase Agreement to hire you in a "generally comparable" position and to make you "eligible for participation in the Incentive Cash Bonus Plan". But the contract puts the "amount of the bonus . . . at the discretion of the Salary…