In re: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al., Appeal Nos. 2021-139, -140 (Fed. Cir. June 30, 2021) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit granted mandamus petitions filed by Samsung and LG Electronics, directing that patent cases pending against them in the Western District of Texas be transferred to the Northern District of California ...
Lawyers prosecuting COVID-19 claims should keep the law’s potential speedbumps in mind as they drive their cases. This article briefly describes what both sides of the bar should consider—and look for moving forward—when navigating COVID-19 cases in Florida. Florida recently codified significant protections for individuals, businesses and other organizations facing COVID-19-related lawsuits ...
The magazine World Trademark Review (“WTR”) has published some interesting data about football trade marks. Given that we’re all watching the Euros, this might be a good time to discuss some of the links between trade marks and football. Football clubs have significant trade mark portfolios The club that arguably takes trade marks most seriously is Manchester United, with a trade mark portfolio of 586 marks. Next comes Barcelona with 440 ...
The cap may no longer fit - In a welcome and well-reasoned decision from the Supreme Court in the case of Manchester Building Society -v- Grant Thornton, the scope of duty and extent of liability of professional advisers has been comprehensively reviewed and clarity provided. The Manchester Building Society (“MBS”) claim related to a claim against Grant Thornton (“GT”) regarding auditing and accounting advice it provided ...
A child arrangements order is a court order which states where a child will live, how they will be cared for and how they will spend their time with one or both of their parents. A question which often goes unasked, however, is how long will the order last? The contact arrangements set out within a child arrangements order, i.e ...
From caterpillar cakes and “anti-establishment” IPA beer to gin, the issue of “copycat” own brands has been thrown into the spotlight by a series of recent court actions involving some of the country’s best-known food and drink producers and discount supermarket chains ...
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (the CPA) was enacted almost 35 years ago in order to implement EU law. The act introduced the concept of “strict liability” into the arena of product supply to certain users. This means that consumers who are injured by defective products can sue manufacturers without having to prove negligence. This practical guide provides an overview of the CPA for consumers and manufacturers, with reference to recent key cases ...
A party making a claim bears the burden of proof, meaning that it is responsible for proving its claim. In civil disputes (as opposed to criminal matters) a claim generally must be proven ‘on the balance of probabilities’ if it is to be successful. How is this achieved? The answer is that the claimant must present sufficient evidence to persuade the decision maker that its case is more probable than not ...
The popularity of wild camping following the easing of the first lockdown caused a number of problems for landowners and managers concerned about the impact on the countryside. Now, as we head into a summer of staycations, landowners may wish to familiarise themselves with the public’s right of responsible access afforded by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 ...
The Supreme Court, in Minerva Surgical, Inc., v. Hologic, Inc., et al., Case No. 20-440, recently upheld the doctrine of assignor estoppel, but severely limited its reach. The Court limited assignor estoppel to not apply in the cases of a “common employment arrangement” with an employer and employee, when there is a change in law, and when the issued patent has “materially broader” claims than the assigned invention ...
Over the past ten or so years, imaginative plaintiffs have pressed “climate change cases” in federal and state courts across the United States. In these cases, plaintiffs (most commonly states, municipalities, or environmentalists) sue defendants (often energy companies, states, or municipalities themselves) seeking damages related to climate change. While these cases have proliferated across the country, Florida saw very few in the early going ...
The question whether exclusive jurisdiction of an Arbitration proceeding can be vested on the basis of the Seat of Arbitration irrespective of any cause of action having arisen at the place of the said seat has been debated now for some time before various Courts ...
The ASA has taken further steps in their battle against influencers that fail to disclose when they are advertising to consumers on their social media channels. The ASA has taken further steps in their battle against influencers that fail to disclose when they are advertising to consumers on their social media channels ...
On June 17, the Supreme Court rejected another court challenge to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge its minimum essential coverage provisions. For the third time, the Supreme Court upheld the ACA. More than a decade after the ACA was enacted, the long and winding road of ACA challenges may be over and healthcare industry participants may finally be able to rely on the ACA as settled law moving forward ...
Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc., et al, No. 20-440 (S. Ct. June 29, 2021) The Supreme Court issued a decision today upholding the validity of the doctrine of assignor estoppel and clarifying its proper limits. The Court held that the doctrine only applies when “the assignor’s claim of invalidity contradicts explicit or implicit representations he made in assigning the patent ...
Key Takeaways The Supreme Court is currently weighing whether to take a case regarding Section 101 of the Patent Act as it applies to inventions involving natural laws. The Federal Circuit recently invalidated claims belonging to American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. relating to the manufacture of a prop-shaft using a natural law under Section 101 ...
With the third wave of COVID-19 in full swing in South Africa, it has never been more important for South African employers to anticipate and prepare for the various COVID-19 related disputes that may lie ahead. It is vital to learn from the challenges already confronted by employers worldwide concerning issues such as vaccination, occupational health and safety, and flexible working arrangements and their approaches to such matters ...
In Competition Commission v W. Hing Construction Co Ltd & Ors [2021] HKCA 877, the Court of Appeal refused to determine whether the standard of proof in competition proceedings for a pecuniary penalty should be lowered from the criminal standard of proof to the civil standard of proof, after concluding that the present case was not an appropriate avenue for such issue to be argued ...
I spent about a third of my 25-year legal career as a federal prosecutor. In that job, I was trained to apply the Principles of Federal Prosecution (PFP), Justice Manual, §9-27.001, et seq., to determine whether and how to charge the white-collar cases I investigated. Sometimes that process was straightforward, but more often the answer was complicated by factors beyond the merits of a particular case ...
Whilst divorce rates for younger couples seems to be on a decline, the rate of later life divorce is on the rise with the divorce rates for those 65 years and older having tripled since 1990. There are various reasons for later life divorces such as growing apart, children having left home, retirement or age-related illnesses, but a common factor is because they do not want to start the last chapter of their life unhappy ...
The IVAucher programme was set up to stimulate private consumption in the sectors worst affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (catering, accommodation and culture). With regard to these sectors, “catering” is used in the broad sense to cover restaurants, cafés, bars and catering companies providing food and beverage services, and “accommodation” refers to hotels and other short-stay accommodation for holidays and business travel ...
United States v. Arthrex, Inc., et al, Appeal No. 2019-1434 (Fed. Cir. June 21, 2021) The Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision today on the constitutionality of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The Court held that the Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) who make up the majority of the PTAB are not constitutionally appointed under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution ...
Guided by the materiality standard from Escobar, a key safeguard for FCA defendants, the Western District of Pennsylvania found the Zaldonis relator failed to show the alleged fraud “would have any effect on the government’s decision to pay a claim.” Five years after the Supreme Court decided it, Escobar thus continues to set a high hurdle for plaintiffs ...
Shipping & Transport, MalaysiaFactsApplicable legal principlesPlaintiff's argumentDefendant's argumentDecisionCommentThis article examines the basis for an order for a sale pendente lite of a vessel that was arrested by a sheriff in in remadmiralty proceedings as security for the plaintiff's claim.(1) FactsOn 19 November 2017 the defendant's vessel, Shi Pu 1, collided with the plaintiff's bulk vessel, Winning Loyalty ...
