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The Impact of Confidentiality on Reasonable Royalty Determinations in Patent Disputes
May 20, 2019
Under 35 U.S. Code § 284, a patentee involved in patent infringement litigation is entitled to recover damages “adequate to compensate for the infringement.” The minimum level of damages the patentee may receive is a “reasonable royalty” on the invention. To compute a reasonable royalty, courts analyze what royalty would have resulted if the two parties had entered into a hypothetical negotiation on the eve of infringement. The best evidence for a reasonable royalty...
May 20, 2019
Under 35 U.S. Code § 284, a patentee involved in patent infringement litigation is entitled to recover damages “adequate to compensate for the infringement.” The minimum level of damages the patentee may receive is a “reasonable royalty” on the invention. To compute a reasonable royalty, courts analyze what royalty would have resulted if the two parties had entered into a hypothetical negotiation on the eve of infringement. The best evidence for a reasonable royalty...
New Site Is Comprehensive Resource for Federal and State Jury Instructions
May 19, 2019
A new website, Trialdex, is a comprehensive resource for finding and comparing federal and state jury instructions. Formally launched yesterday, the site provides a searchable collection all official or quasi-official federal civil and criminal instructions and annotations, as well as an index of 20,000 legal terms, statutes, CFRs and Supreme Court cases referenced in jury instructions.
May 19, 2019
A new website, Trialdex, is a comprehensive resource for finding and comparing federal and state jury instructions. Formally launched yesterday, the site provides a searchable collection all official or quasi-official federal civil and criminal instructions and annotations, as well as an index of 20,000 legal terms, statutes, CFRs and Supreme Court cases referenced in jury instructions.
Article on Blockchain Wills
May 18, 2019
Bridget J. Crawford recently published an Article entitled, Blockchain Wills, Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law eJournal...
May 18, 2019
Bridget J. Crawford recently published an Article entitled, Blockchain Wills, Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law eJournal...
Error Costs, Ratio Tests, and Patent Antitrust Law
May 17, 2019
This paper examines the welfare tradeoff between patent and antitrust law. Since patent and antitrust law have contradictory goals, the question that naturally arises is how one should choose between the two in instances where there is a conflict. One sensible approach to choosing between two legal standards, or between proof standards with respect to evidence, is to consider the relative costs of errors. The approach in this paper is to consider the ratio of false positives to false negatives in patent...
May 17, 2019
This paper examines the welfare tradeoff between patent and antitrust law. Since patent and antitrust law have contradictory goals, the question that naturally arises is how one should choose between the two in instances where there is a conflict. One sensible approach to choosing between two legal standards, or between proof standards with respect to evidence, is to consider the relative costs of errors. The approach in this paper is to consider the ratio of false positives to false negatives in patent...
Am I Still Covered Under the Title Insurance Policy?
May 16, 2019
An important issue to keep in mind when transferring property for estate planning purposes is whether the successor owner will be covered by the grantee’s title insurance policy. Title insurance policies insure only the title of the “Insured” identified in the policy, and older ALTA policies created confusion by being vague about whether certain subsequent owners were insured. By expanding the definition of the "insured," the ALTA 2006 policy form eliminates much of the doubt regarding...
May 16, 2019
An important issue to keep in mind when transferring property for estate planning purposes is whether the successor owner will be covered by the grantee’s title insurance policy. Title insurance policies insure only the title of the “Insured” identified in the policy, and older ALTA policies created confusion by being vague about whether certain subsequent owners were insured. By expanding the definition of the "insured," the ALTA 2006 policy form eliminates much of the doubt regarding...
Fifth Circuit Holds Houston Law Firm May Intervene in Client’s Arbitration Case
May 15, 2019
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ordered a Texas federal court to allow a law firm to intervene in a case over a contingency fee dispute with a client following arbitration proceedings. In Adam Joseph Resources, et al. v. CNA Metals Limited, No. 17-20685 (5th Cir., March 26, 2019), a Houston law firm, Brown Sims, represented a client, Adam Joseph Resources (“AJR”), on a contingency fee basis against CNAMetals (“CNA”). ...
May 15, 2019
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ordered a Texas federal court to allow a law firm to intervene in a case over a contingency fee dispute with a client following arbitration proceedings. In Adam Joseph Resources, et al. v. CNA Metals Limited, No. 17-20685 (5th Cir., March 26, 2019), a Houston law firm, Brown Sims, represented a client, Adam Joseph Resources (“AJR”), on a contingency fee basis against CNAMetals (“CNA”). ...
The Surprising Effectiveness of Hostile Mediators
May 14, 2019
In their 2017 research paper,The Surprising Effectiveness of Hostile Mediators, authors Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino, Michael...
May 14, 2019
In their 2017 research paper,The Surprising Effectiveness of Hostile Mediators, authors Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino, Michael...
Arbitrability of Arbitrability Questions: the Second Circuit Pushes Back (a little)
May 13, 2019
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, however, does not require the parties to expressly state in their agreement that they agree to submit arbitrability questions to the arbitrators. The Second Circuit has found that the parties may “clearly and unmistakably” submit arbitrability questions to arbitration when they agree to a very broad arbitration clause. See Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC v. Sappington, 884 F.3d 392, 394, 396 (2d Cir. 2018) (An agreement “to arbitrate...
May 13, 2019
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, however, does not require the parties to expressly state in their agreement that they agree to submit arbitrability questions to the arbitrators. The Second Circuit has found that the parties may “clearly and unmistakably” submit arbitrability questions to arbitration when they agree to a very broad arbitration clause. See Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC v. Sappington, 884 F.3d 392, 394, 396 (2d Cir. 2018) (An agreement “to arbitrate...
Good News For Lawyers As Employment, Income Increase Again
May 12, 2019
Stephen F. Diamond (Santa Clara), Good News for Lawyers as Employment Increases Again; Silicon Valley Lawyers Get a Hefty Pay Raise: Continuing a decades old trend, employment of lawyers increased yet again from May, 2017 to May, 2018, in the latest data released today, March 29, 2019, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (The data excludes partners, who are not defined as “employees,” and may also exclude some solo practitioners.) Nationally,...
May 12, 2019
Stephen F. Diamond (Santa Clara), Good News for Lawyers as Employment Increases Again; Silicon Valley Lawyers Get a Hefty Pay Raise: Continuing a decades old trend, employment of lawyers increased yet again from May, 2017 to May, 2018, in the latest data released today, March 29, 2019, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (The data excludes partners, who are not defined as “employees,” and may also exclude some solo practitioners.) Nationally,...
Tech-Savvy Firms More Profitable Now, More Prepared for the Future, Finds Survey of U.S. and EU Legal Professionals
May 11, 2019
A survey of 700 lawyers in U.S. and European law firms, legal departments and business-services firms finds that organizations that already leverage technology are better prepared to keep pace with an evolving legal market than those that are just beginning to use technology or that are not doing so at all. In addition, firms that were early adopters of technology were significantly more likely to report higher profitability in the last year than were firms that lagged in technology adoption. These...
May 11, 2019
A survey of 700 lawyers in U.S. and European law firms, legal departments and business-services firms finds that organizations that already leverage technology are better prepared to keep pace with an evolving legal market than those that are just beginning to use technology or that are not doing so at all. In addition, firms that were early adopters of technology were significantly more likely to report higher profitability in the last year than were firms that lagged in technology adoption. These...
