Understanding the Power and Gravity of the Fiduciary Duty

December 20, 2011

The highest duty under the law is the fiduciary duty.  Some people are surprised when they learn that they owe their partners fiduciary duties.  When fiduciary duties apply to a business or personal context, the fiduciary may not engage in self-dealing and must treat his or her partners or other beneficiaries with utmost good faith [...]

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The Collision of the Entrepreneurial and Litigation World

December 15, 2011

Excited. Passionate. Devoted: the foregoing describe the relationship between the entrepreneurs I have had the pleasure of representing, and their ideas. I usually get to hear the longer version of their elevator pitch. I also get to hear about how excited they were to get the angel or venture capital funding and how their investors [...]

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Patent Infringement Injunctive Relief

December 13, 2011

Patent infringement attorneys know that the opportunity to obtain an injunction against the infringer in patent infringement litigation is a powerful weapon. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C. weakened this weapon somewhat through it’s ruling that there was no presumption of irreparable harm, which is a prerequisite for injunctive [...]

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Patent Infringement: Standing to Sue

December 12, 2011

In patent infringement litigation, one threshold question is who must bring the patent infringement claim. The rule on patent infringement standing is that plaintiffs suing for infringement collectively must hold “all substantial rights” in the patent being asserted. Crown Die & Tool Co. v. Nye Tool & Mach. Works, 261 U.S. 24 (1923). Accordingly, if [...]

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Patent Infringement Damages

December 9, 2011

In a patent infringement representation, one of the most important consultations between client and the patent infringement attorney is how to establish a damage model. The minimum damage available to the patent infringement plaintiff who prevails is a reasonable royalty. In the words of the patent statute, a patentee is entitled to “damages adequeate to [...]

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Trade Secret Misappropriation

December 8, 2011

In trade secret litigation it is a little known fact that a company can recover damages for trade secret misappropriation even if the party who took the trade secrets didn’t profit from them. A defendant’s lack of profits does not preclude the defendant’s obligation to pay for what it misappropriated. University Computing Company v. Lykes-Youngstown [...]

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