Year of the Rat starts next Tuesday.
As 2008 draws nigh, the federal courts keep at their judicial business. Why, these interesting and important appellate decisions in commercial cases came out just this week:
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007).
At a rally on December 27, 2007, shortly before her assassination, Ms. Bhutto said:
I put my life in danger and came here because I feel this country is in danger. People are worried. We will bring the country out of this crisis.
Yellow packaging alone doesn’t equal trade dress infringement.
On Monday, the Third Circuit rejected a finding of no substantial similarity between the trade dress of Splenda, the leading "sucralose" sweetener, and that of some grocery chains’ knock-offs. The fake Splenda packaging looked to the court of appeals just too much like Splenda’s —
Tom Herman, in his WSJ Tax Report column today, notes that the Internal Revenue Service "recently issued guidance" on whistleblower claims under a 2006 law. The statute doubles the rewards available to individuals who squeal on tax cheats.
You can see the IRS announcement (on December 19, 2007) here. It includes links to
My Symphony
To live content with small means;
to seek elegance,
rather than luxury,
and refinement,
rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich;
to study hard, think quietly,
talk gently, act frankly;
to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages,
with an open heart;
to bear all cheerfully,
The American Tort Reform Association published its Judicial Hellholes 2007, er, report. Imagine Blawgletter’s excitement.
Adam Liptak, in his Sidebar column at the NYT, points out a few shortcomings in the, ah, report — including that "[i]t has no apparent methodology."
[Meanwhile, the folks at Addicting Games have a series of HellHoles episodes
Beyonce Giselle Knowles.
The Fifth Circuit yesterday affirmed a summary judgment in favor of singer-songwriter-movie star Beyonce Knowles, whom Jennifer Armour accused of copying the "hook" in her "Got a Little Bit of Love for You". The hook, according to the complaint, found its way into Ms. Knowles’s "Baby Boy". The court affirmed the summary
NERA Economic Consulting released a study of trends in "shareholder class actions". It concludes that, after a sharp decline in 2006, filings have returned to 2005 levels. Most of the credit goes to cases against subprime lenders and their enablers, NERA reports.
Should you bother to read the consulting firm’s conclusions? No.
For one thing
Heracles holding Cerberus.
For those of you whose taste inclines to the intersection of ancient myth with modern law, Chancellor Chandler’s summary judgment opinion will thrill:
In classical mythology, it took a demigod to subdue Cerberus, the beastly three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld. In his twelfth and final labor, Heracles journed
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) describes affidavits that Canadian antitrust enforcers used to get chocolate search warrants last month. The Competition Bureau filed the 24-page and 57-page affidavits with the Ottawa Superior Court of Justice. The WSJ has a similar article.
The affidavits tell of a price-fixing conspiracy lasting from 2002 until a few