This periodic bulletin is designed to help companies identify important legal developments governing the use and acceptance of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and digital assets. While the use cases for blockchain...more
To protect its data and better compete in the market, an organization must treat its data as an intellectual property. That means understanding the different intellectual property regimes and their accompanying requirements....more
From time to time, we have written regarding pet custody, though there is very little case law on the issue. Historically, pets were treated as chattel (property) and courts did not enter custody and visitation orders for...more
Among the many unusual aspects of 2021 is that the same insurance company was before a federal appellate court on two separate but contemporaneous cases – one in which the insurer was asserting a lack of insurance coverage...more
Following recent court decisions, the options available to an owner of empty business premises to avoid a liability for empty property rates have been reduced. This matters because no rates are payable for the first...more
Briefcase: Quarterly Real Estate Update - Cases and News including: ..The Royal Parks Limited and the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport v Bluebird Boats Limited ..Monsolar IQ Ltd v Woden Park...more
Auto dealerships are one of many businesses reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even where dealers are deemed an essential business and allowed to operate, buyers are avoiding the showroom....more
In Salcedo v. Hanna, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that a TCPA plaintiff lacked standing to pursue a claim based on the alleged receipt of a single, unsolicited text message....more
In my last post, “Real Estate Alphabet Soup: E is for Easement and Eminent Domain” I continued my primer on the “alphabet soup” of real estate. This post continues to stir the “alphabet soup” with the letter “F.”...more
California case law over the last few years is replete with instances where a new and/or small business has one of their employees take responsibility for various IT activities such as setting up the company website and/or...more
Amendments to the Ontario Personal Property Security Act (PPSA) were enacted on May 29, 2019, which will make it easier for lessors and financiers to originate, finance and securitize electronic chattel paper (e.g., leases,...more
A new law in California which goes into effect on January 1, 2019 gives Courts the right to determine custody and care of a pet both pending a divorce and as part of a final determination. ...more
Some years ago, a judge in New York wrote that “the reported cases for replevin of a pet dog are few, in part because of the legal expense involved in maintaining such an action.” Webb v. Papaspiridakos, 889 N.Y.S.2d 884...more
In 1628, Lord Coke in his “Institutes of the laws of England” summarized the common law on restraints on the alienation of chattels stating that any attempt by a seller to restrict resale or use of the chattel after selling...more
U.S. patents incentivize innovation by allowing patent owners to prevent others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing their inventions into the United States for a period of 20 years. Patent owners are...more
The Western District of Kentucky recently granted a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, determining that there is no federal question jurisdiction when a claim is brought for trespass to chattels and...more
Last week, a Kentucky federal judge, U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, threw out the lawsuit against William H. Merideth, also known as the ‘Drone Slayer’, a drone pilot who was sued for the downing of an unmanned...more