Legal Trends

Though it has been roughly one year since federal and local governments first enforced widespread lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, businesses in nearly every industry are still feeling the pandemic’s harmful effects. In many cases, the pandemic’s negative impact has fully prevented companies from continuing normal operations. And, companies locked into contracts face substantial liability for [...]

On May 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in TC Heartland, LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, LLC.   In a unanimous 8-0 decision (Justice Gorsuch abstained), the United States Supreme Court held that venue for patent infringement actions is governed only by 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b).  This statute provides that “any civil action for patent infringement [...]

On March 24, 2017, K&F attorneys Greg Collins and Geoffrey Kercsmar presented a mock Markman (patent claim construction) hearing for Arizona attorneys at the Third Annual CLE in the Gardens sponsored by the Intellectual Bar Section of the Arizona State Bar.   In Markman v.  Westview Instruments, Inc., 116  S.Ct. 1384 (U.S. 1996), the United States Supreme Court held that the judge must to construe [...]

PROTECTING YOUR COMPANY’S REPUTATION: Online Defamation Strategies that Work and When to Use Them Gregory B. Collins, Co-Managing Member, Kercsmar & Feltus, PLLC NOTE: This article was originally published by the Assocation of Corporate Counsel Arizona Chapter in its quarter four newsletter. The Internet has revolutionized how consumers make decisions. According to a recent survey, 92% of consumers now rely on online reviews [...]

The U.S. Government estimates that trade secret theft costs the U.S. economy over $400 billion dollars annually.[1]This isn’t new: trade secret theft has been a problem since the Industrial Revolution. For the most part, the federal government has remained silent on the issue and allowed states to address it on their own. Most states have enforced some variation of [...]

Tonight, the first presidential debate will take place without the participation of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. By rule, Mr. Johnson needed “a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recently publicly-reported results at the time of the [...]

UPDATE: On July 15, 2016, Tom Brady announced that he will not be requesting that the Supreme Court hear the case.  He'll serve his suspension the first four games of the NFL season. On July 12, 2016, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association’s request for en banc rehearing in the Deflategate [...]

Effective August 6, 2016, Arizona law will allow employing entities and independent contractors to take advantage of a rebuttal presumption that an independent contractor relationship exists if certain conditions are met. House Bill 211, more commonly known as Declaration of Independent Business Status (DIBS), amends Title 23 of the Arizona Revised Statues by adding Chapter 10 relating to employment [...]

Our attorneys frequently handle false advertising claims filed under 15 U.S.C. § 1225(d), the Lanham Act.   On behalf of our clients, we have alleged that a competitor falsely advertises it products as “natural” when the product contains synthetic materials.   Some attorneys have argued that because the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has not defined “natural,” a jury is not competent [...]

As business becomes more technical and knowledge-based, employers are increasingly asking their employees to sign covenants not to compete so they may protect trade secrets and confidential business information from being used by former employees who go on to work for competitors.  As a result, individuals and companies contemplating new jobs or business opportunities are often faced with determining [...]

On December 1, 2015, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to impose specific (and potentially significant) penalties for failing to preserve electronically stored information (ESI), which “should have been preserved in the anticipation of litigation.”  Rule 37, commonly known as the “sanctions rule,” now includes subsection (e): (e) Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information. If electronically stored information [...]

(Originally published March 26, 2015 in the Record Reporter.) The NFL’s Championship Game (the NFL does not want you to call it the Super Bowl, but that is a subject for an article on trademark law, not copyright protection) was played just over a month ago. While the NFL’s season concluded that evening with the Patriots defeating the Seahawks [...]