Business Law Section Blog

See below for this month's links to recent news and commentary on rapidly evolving Technology and Venture Law brought to you by the leadership of the Technology and Venture Law Committee. Read on for info that affects your livelihood and practice.

If you have suggestions for content to be included in our update, please email Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator, at vk@kasterlegal.com or David Caplan, Committee Chair at david@legal2biz.com.

Firms Beef Up Tax Practices in Silicon Valley as IRS Increases Scrutiny of IP Assets
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202571666462&Firms_Beef_Up_Tax_Practices_in_Silicon_Valley_as_IRS_Increases_Scrutiny_of_IP_Assets&slreturn=20120821093737
By Amy Miller: LAW.COM
"Tax lawyers say they're already seeing bigger IRS teams at audit reviews and dispute resolutions involving high-tech companies"...read more about their suggestions.

Uncertainty in the Cloud: Changing Requirements for Disclosing Customer Data
http://www.carltonfields.com/uncertainty-in-the-cloud-changing-requirements-for-disclosing-customer-data-11-08-2012/
By James B. Baldinger and Chas Short: Carlton Fields
"The explosion in the number of companies providing services that store data ''in the cloud'' provides new challenges for applying outdated laws to new technologies." This article examines the difficulties presented by the lack of clear legal guidance on disclosure of customer information by these companies.

CLE Free Webcast- Provide Legal Assistance to People Affected by Superstorm Sandy
http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&ProductID=5807
This NYSBA CLE Webcast is FREE if it is viewed and the CLE form submitted before January 31, 2013.

Thanks for reading,

TechVentureLaw Leadership Team,

Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator
David Caplan, Committee Chair
Shalom Leaf
Sanjay Gandhi
Richard Weltman
Vacilios Angelos
Matthew Asbell
Heather John

See below for this month's links to recent news and commentary on rapidly evolving Technology and Venture Law brought to you by the leadership of the Technology and Venture Law Committee. Read on for info that affects your livelihood and practice.

If you have suggestions for content to be included in our update, please email Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator, at vk@kasterlegal.com or David Caplan, Committee Chair at david@legal2biz.com.

IP Holding Vehicles: Singapore vs. Hong Kong
http://www.tilleke.com/resources/ip-holding-vehicles-singapore-vs-hong-kong
By Alan Adcock: Tilleke & Gibbins
"IP Holding Companies are popular because they can help corporations to minimize tax, gain tax benefits/concessions, protect IP from bankruptcy or other claims against the parent company, and focus management attention on the IP portfolio in order to see it as an income generator." Deciding where to locate an IP Holding Company is critical, here is a look into the pros and cons of locating an IP Holding Company in Singapore and Hong Kong.

MedStartr launches: a health and medical focused crowd-funding platform
http://www.kasterlegal.com/iplegalfreebies/2012/7/30/medstartr-launches-a-health-and-medical-focused-crowd-fundin.html
By Vanessa Kaster: Kaster Legal
The launch of MedStartr aims to fill a gap in the crowd-funding services provided by Kickstarter.com by providing a crowd-funding platform for health and medical-focused projects, products and interventions.

5 Ways Strategic Social Media Can Help Small Businesses
http://www.briansolis.com/2012/09/5-ways-strategic-social-media-can-help-small-businesses/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+briansolis+%28Brian+Solis%29
By Brian Solis: BRIANSOLIS.COM
A Social Media to-do list for small businesses.

Thanks for reading,

TechVentureLaw Leadership Team,

Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator
David Caplan, Committee Chair
Shalom Leaf
Sanjay Gandhi
Richard Weltman
Vacilios Angelos
Matthew Asbell
Heather John

See below for this month's links to recent news and commentary on rapidly evolving Technology and Venture Law brought to you by the leadership of the Technology and Venture Law Committee. Read on for info that affects your livelihood and practice.

If you have suggestions for content to be included in our update, please email Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator, at vk@kasterlegal.com or David Caplan, Committee Chair at david@legal2biz.com.

Seventh Circuit Bankruptcy Ruling is Big Win For Trademark Licensees:
http://bankruptcy.cooley.com/2012/07/articles/business-bankruptcy-issues/seventh-circuit-bankruptcy-ruling-is-big-win-for-trademark-licensees/
By Bob Eisenbach: Cooly LLP
"On July 9, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued its decision in Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Manufacturing, LLC, and in doing so handed a major victory to trademark licensees whose licenses are rejected in bankruptcy by trademark owners...."

Cross-Border Joint Ventures: When They are Useful and What to Watch Out For:
http://www.sullcrom.com/files/Publication/fe70cce1-b422-4e22-b6e4-2c5ef7e19819/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/cba43f70-c1d1-4100-a7d7-2eaa5c6ce704/Hamilton-Cross-Border-Dealmaker.pdf
By Brian Hamilton: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
A full and frank evaluation of the potential benefits and obstacles and risks is critical at the beginning of joint ventures. Don't forget potential areas of conflict like governance, future funding, exits and liquidity expectations, as well as any cross-border tensions that may arise in the joint venture.

NY Courts weigh in on Confidentiality (or lack thereof) in email communications:
http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/attorney-client-privilege-with-client-emails/
By Vanessa Kaster: Kaster Legal
How easy it is for others to access your client's emails? This is an important aspect to maintaining attorney-client privilege over email communications with clients.

Thanks for reading,
TechVentureLaw Leadership Team,
Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator
David Caplan, Committee Chair
Shalom Leaf
Sanjay Gandhi
Richard Weltman
Vacilios Angelos
Matthew Asbell
Heather John

Dewey & LeBoeuf Files for Bankruptcy, Fails to Save Firm

Read Bloomberg article here

All -

I commend to your attention the recent thorough and thoughtful decision of Judge Melvin Schweitzer in Gomez-Jimenez et al. v. New York Law School (available online at https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=tirVQewp3WubLLAB61Zy/A==&system=prod).

The plaintiffs, recent graduates of New York Law School, sued the school on fraud and other theories under common law as well as the NY General Business Law sec. 349, alleging that NYLS effectively misrepresented the value of a NYLS JD degree based on data posted on its website showing the percentage of graduates who had jobs six months out, and the average salaries reported by law graduates. They claimed to have relied on such data, which induced them to attend or to stay at NYLS, paying higher tuition than was warranted by the actual value of the degree and incurring huge debts in the process. In granting summary judgment to NYLS, the Judge noted among other things that the law school complied with ABA standards for advertising such data under the Higher Education Act; that the website clearly indicated that the average salary data shown was based on a relatively small percentage of respondents; that, as more sophisticated consumers than the average, it was not reasonable for the law students to rely on this single piece of information, especially given the plethora of publicly available rankings and other infomration on law schools; that it was not credible that the students assumed that all reported jobs were full-time legal jobs, given that many law graduates go into other lines of work (i.e., that the law degree has become something like what the MBA degree used to be - the next step for college graduates who don't know what they want to do, a phenomenon certainly familiar to me personally in my role as adjunct professor at both NYLS and Pace); and, most importantly, that the circumstances of the law industry changed dramatically with the economic downturn of 2007-9, resulting in the worst job market for law graduates in our lifetimes. Judge Schweitzer concludes by offering some thoughtful comments on the future of the profession that are well worth reading.

See below for this month's links to recent news and commentary on rapidly evolving Technology and Venture Law brought to you by the leadership of the Technology and Venture Law Committee. Read on for info that affects your livelihood and practice.

If you have suggestions for content to be included in our update, please email Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator, at vk@kasterlegal.com or David Caplan, Committee Chair at david@legal2biz.com.

Ninth Circuit narrows reach of CFAA in en banc US v Nosal decision
http://www.infolawgroup.com/2012/04/articles/computer-fraud-and-abuse-act-c/ninth-circuit-narrows-reach-of-cfaa-in-en-banc-us-v-nosal-decision
By Richard Santalesa: Information Law Group
The legal and online arenas have been a buzz in response to the Ninth Circuit's issued en banc opinion in U.S v. Nosal, 2012 WL 1176119 (9th Cir. April 10, 2012), addressing the reach and scope of the oft-litigated and controversial, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1030.

Save e-mails, avoid sanctions: court creates new duty to preserve e-mails during a transaction
http://mosessinger.com/articles/files/DutyToPreserveEmailsDuringTransaction.pdf
By Devika Kewalramani and David Rabinowitz: Moses & Singer LLP
Magistrate Judge Azrack of the Eastern District of New York held that a lawyer can be sanctioned for spoliation of evidence for failing to preserve e-mails relating to loan transactions that the lawyer helped negotiate.

Why Europe's Tech Firms ♥ New York
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-05/why-europes-tech-firms-new-york
By Matthew Campbell and Zijing Wu: Bloomberg Business Week
"Europe's startup and their venture capital backers are turning to U.S. markets for higher calculations and greater liquidity. Total venture capital investment in the third quarter of 2011 in the U.S. outstripped that in Europe by almost eight times."

Thanks for reading,

TechVentureLaw Leadership Team,

Vanessa Kaster, Blog Curator
David Caplan, Committee Chair
Shalom Leaf
Sanjay Gandhi
Richard Weltman
Vacilios Angelos
Matthew Asbell
Heather John

Continue reading "Interested in start-up company strategies? " »

[A] private litigant may not pursue a common-law cause of action where the claim is predicated solely on a violation of the Martin Act or its implementing regulations and would not exist but for the statute. But, an injured investor may bring a common-law claim (for fraud or otherwise) that is not entirely dependent on the Martin Act for its viability. Mere overlap between the common law and the Martin Act is not enough to extinguish common-law remedies.

Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd. v. J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., 2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 09162 (N.Y. Dec. 20, 2011).  Available at http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2011/2011_09162.htm

Plaintiffs now have greater opportunity to assert common law claims under New York law in connection with investor or securities disputes />

The Securities and Exchange Commission on December 8, 2011, opened registration for its national seminar to help chief compliance officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at investment management firms enhance their compliance programs for the protection of investors.

The event will be held on Jan. 31, 2012, at the SEC's Washington D.C. headquarters, and will include panel discussions to analyze compliance and other significant issues being faced by investment advisers and registered investment companies.

Panel discussion topics at this year's National Seminar include:

• Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management
  
• Trading Practices
  
• Dodd-Frank Act Reforms
  
• Enforcement-Related Matters
  
• Custody

Registration materials and other information about the national seminar are available at: http://www.sec.gov/info/complianceoutreach/complianceoutreachns2012.htm.

The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and attendance is limited to 500 people. The seminar will be webcast at www.sec.gov.

Recently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held a Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. Each Commissioner made remarks, and there were panel discussions on topics including (a) Current Capital Formation Issues for Private Companies and (b) Initial Public Offerings and Securities Regulation Involving Smaller Public Companies. Here's a link to the agenda http://www.sec.gov/info/smallbus/sbforum111711-agenda.htm. And here is a link to the archived webcast http://www.sec.gov/news/otherwebcasts/2011/gbforum111711.shtml. Since the webcast is over 3-1/2 hours long, you will want to check the agenda for the timetable to see what interests you.