The United States Patent and Trademark Office has announced that all foreign trademark applicants and registrants and all parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings must be represented by a U.S.-licensed attorney. The new rule applies to any party filing in the Trademark Office or Continue Reading
NLRB Expands Employer Rights to Limit Activities of Non-Employee Union Organizers
Since 1982, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has interpreted the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) to prohibit employers from denying non-employee union organizers access to those parts of the employer’s private property that are generally open to the public, such as Continue Reading
“F” Word Doesn’t Faze Supreme Court—Supreme Court Says USPTO Cannot Refuse to Grant Trademarks Merely Because They Contain Expletives
George Carlin famously observed that there are seven words you can’t say on TV. Erik Brunetti didn’t get the message and thus sought to register a trademark for a line of clothing called “FUCT.” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register the mark on the grounds that this obvious Continue Reading
Sovereign Immunity Does Not Shield State-Owned Patents from Inter Partes Review
States and their agencies, particularly state universities, are often parties to patent infringement litigation in federal courts. An increasingly common defense to infringement allegations is to ask the Patent Office to invalidate the asserted patent in an agency procedure known as an inter partes Continue Reading
Delaware Court of Chancery Favors the Plaintiff in Finding the Defendants’ Understanding of an LLC Agreement Not the Only Reasonable Interpretation
Delaware Law Update—Delaware Court of Chancery Favors the Plaintiff in Finding the Defendants’ Understanding of an LLC Agreement Not the Only Reasonable Interpretation | Publications | McCarter & English Coyne v. Fusion Healthworks, LLC, et al., C.A. No. Continue Reading
New Jersey Supreme Court Affirms the Proper Scope of Shareholders’ Right to Inspect Books and Records
The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed per curiam the Appellate Division’s decision in R.A. Feur v. Merck & Co., Inc. and its strict adherence to the New Jersey corporate statute N.J.S.A. 14A:5-28 governing “books and records” inspection demands. Case Background Plaintiff Feur Continue Reading
Delaware Supreme Court Ruling in Aruba Completes a Trilogy of Decisions Emphasizing Arm’s-Length Merger Price in Determining Fair Value
A significant contribution to Delaware appraisal jurisprudence, the Delaware Supreme Court’s reversal of the Court of Chancery’s ruling in Verition Partners v. Aruba Networks is the third Supreme Court decision in the last two years to rely on the negotiated merger consideration in Continue Reading
New Jersey Releases Draft Energy Master Plan Targeting 100% Clean Energy in 30 Years
New Jersey unveiled a draft of the forthcoming 2019 Energy Master Plan (EMP) required by the 2018 Clean Energy Act and delegated by Governor Murphy to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The EMP sketches the road map for New Jersey’s transition to 100% clean energy by 2050, and once Continue Reading
A Welcome Step Forward—Connecticut Transfer Act Amended
Connecticut’s 2019 legislative session produced some long-overdue improvements to the state’s Transfer Act. The resulting Senate Bill 1030 awaits Governor Ned Lamont’s expected signature and would take effect October 1, 2019. The Transfer Act was enacted in 1985 to alert unsuspecting purchasers Continue Reading
“Oh Yes, Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman”—Supreme Court Says Post Office (and the Government) Can’t Challenge Patents in Patent Office Proceedings
Who — or what — is a “person” authorized under the America Invents Act (“AIA”) to challenge the validity of patents in Patent Office proceeding? That is the question that the Supreme Court answered on Monday, holding that the United States Postal Service (and the Government generally) may not seek Continue Reading