NYC’s Naked Cowboy Says Candy Corp. Stole His Trademark Skimpy Outfit

Robert Burck has spent years developing his well-known persona as a seemingly naked cowboy playing his guitar in New York City’s Times Square. Now he is suing a major candy company over an advertising campaign featuring an animated M&M dressed in a similar skimpy outfit. The 37-year-old “has his tighty…

Feb 14, 2008 12:31 AM CST

Bell Boyd Raids 2 San Diego Firms, Opens New Office

A well-known Chicago-based firm is establishing a West Coast presence, raiding two San Diego law offices to open a six-attorney outpost there. (It will also be staffed from the outset with seven Ph.D-credentialed specialists, and two of the lawyers apparently have Ph.Ds, too.) The partners at the helm of Bell,…

Feb 13, 2008 11:15 PM CST

Sixth-Highest Patent Verdict Reported

A federal jury in Texas has awarded a New Jersey radiologist $431.9 million in a suit against Boston Scientific Corp. for infringing his patent for a heart stent. Plaintiff Bruce Saffran has also sued Johnson & Johnson in another infringement suit related to stents, the Wall Street Journal reports. The…

Feb 13, 2008 4:54 PM CST

Internet Ban Plan Would Bar Illegal Downloaders, Under ‘3 Strikes’ Rule

A proposal to ban illegal music and film downloaders from using the Internet that has been under discussion for months by Hollywood entertainment industry officials and Internet service providers may be moving closer to reality. Proposed legislation to implement the enforcement system will be unveiled in the United Kingdom next…

Feb 12, 2008 7:42 PM CST

Hedge Fund Sues Over General Counsel’s $10M Bonus

A hedge fund has filed a lawsuit claiming that a $10 million bonus awarded to the general counsel of Transmeta Corp. is “outrageous, illegal and unconscionable.” The stockholder’s derivative suit was filed by Riley Investment Management, which owns about 7 percent of Transmeta and has offered to buy the company,…

Feb 12, 2008 11:45 AM CST

Outsourcing Alternative: Law Firm Sets Up Own Shop in India

Apparently weary of seeing clients defect to to low-cost companies in India and elsewhere when it came time to perform so-called legal process work, at least one major U.S. law firm reportedly is fighting back. Howrey is opening its own office in India, although outsourcing is not what it is…

Feb 11, 2008 6:06 PM CST

$5K DePaul Student Award Honors Slain IP Lawyer

A $5,000 award has been established in memory of a Chicago intellectual property lawyer who was murdered in a shooting rampage at his law firm in late 2006. The scholarship will be awarded to a third-year student at DePaul University College of Law who is “expected to make the greatest…

Feb 5, 2008 12:39 AM CST

America’s 5 Largest IP Firms

Feb 1, 2008 11:48 PM CST

Judge Blasts Recording Industry’s ‘Clever Scheme’ to Join File-Sharing Defendants

A magistrate judge has targeted what she calls the recording industry’s “clever scheme” to obtain discovery against multiple defendants accused of file sharing by joining them in single lawsuits. In a recent opinion (PDF posted by Internet Law and Regulation), Judge Margaret Kravchuk suggested a hearing on Rule 11 sanctions…

Feb 1, 2008 4:33 PM CST

Reinventing Patent Law

The pendulum is swinging for a system that has long favored the rights of patent holders

Feb 1, 2008 3:50 PM CST

Federal Circuit Rules for TiVo in Key DVR Case

In an important case involving “time-shifting” video recording technology, a federal appeals court has ruled that EchoStar Holding Corp. and Dish Network Corp. have been illegally using the software created by TiVo Inc. Thursday’s decision (PDF) by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, comes as TiVo, based…

Jan 31, 2008 10:56 PM CST

Coughlin Stoia Forms IP Group With Two Duane Morris Lawyers

Securities class-action powerhouse Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins has announced formation of a practice group in Atlanta to pursue patent litigation. The group will represent inventors and universities in suits against corporations, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Darren Robbins, a founding partner of the San Diego firm, said the…

Jan 31, 2008 3:33 PM CST

EU Countries Can Keep File Sharer Data Private in Civil Cases

The European Union’s top court ruled today that EU countries can refuse to disclose names of Internet file sharers in civil matters. This is a blow to copyright holders fighting digital piracy, reports Reuters. The European Court of Justice ruling comes in a dispute between a Spanish music rights holders…

Jan 29, 2008 9:15 PM CST

Joke Book Publisher Settles Jay Leno Lawsuit

Jay Leno and other comedians have settled a copyright infringement lawsuit against publishers that printed their jokes without permission. Editor Judy Brown and her publishers have agreed to stop publishing the joke books and to pay an undisclosed amount to the comedians, according to a press release. Brown also issued…

Jan 24, 2008 3:21 PM CST

January Remains a Popular Month for Lateral Hires

Law firms often make lateral hires in January after the books have been closed for the previous year, and 2008 is no different. Lawyers with practices in bankruptcy and corporate finance appear particularly popular as lateral hires, the National Law Journal reports. And bankruptcy lawyers will remain in demand in…

Jan 23, 2008 1:57 PM CST