Archive for October 2013
Providing Inequitable Conduct Clarity: Intellect Wireless, Inc. v. HTC Corp.
Eddy Rivero In Intellect Wireless, Inc. v. HTC Corp.,[1] the Federal Circuit affirmed that HTC did not infringe on Intellect’s patents, which claimed a method to send images and caller ID information over a wireless network. The court found that the patent applicant and founder of Intellect Wireless, Daniel Henderson, engaged in inequitable conduct stemming…
Read MoreSmoking Out Big Tobacco’s Marketing Strategies: National Ass’n of Tobacco Outlets, Inc. v. City of Providence
Charles Frank “Big Tobacco” may be taking a major hit with respect to future revenues as a result of the First Circuit’s recent decision in National Ass’n of Tobacco Outlets, Inc. v. City of Providence.[1] On appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the Court upheld two City of…
Read MoreCFPB is on Safe(r) Footing after Filibuster Deal
By Thomas Ahmadifar, Associate Managing Editor In January of 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw the legal world into a frenzy by narrowly interpreting the Recess Appointments Clause (RAC) of the United States Constitution.[1] The Noel Canning v. N.L.R.B. decision placed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)…
Read MoreUnited States v. Quality Stores, Inc.
By Davis Yoffe, Senior Staff Writer On October 1, 2013, as U.S. government shutdown, the Supreme Court not only stayed open, but granted certiorari for the new term. One of the cases the Supreme Court will hear, styled on appeal as United States v. Quality Stores, Inc.[1], is of special interest to tax practitioners. The issue…
Read MoreRegulating Ride-Sharing: Implications From California’s Decision
Elaine Ding On September 19, 2013, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously voted to pass proposed rules regulating app-based ride-sharing services like Lyft, SideCar, and UberX, making California the first state to regulate such services.[1] Ride-sharing services differ from traditional taxi services in that users can request cars by using mobile apps and drivers…
Read MoreSalem Financial: The Final Nail in the Coffin for STARS Shelters?
By Darshan Chulani, Senior Staff Writer In late September, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims handed down a decision that is widely believed to spell the end of STARS transactions in their current form. Structured Trust Advantaged Repackaged Securities, or STARS, have been in use since the late 90s as a means of generating foreign…
Read MoreIreland Will Shut a Tax Loophole Used by Apple and Other Major Companies
Sasha Boshart On October 15, 2013, Ireland announced as part of its 2014 budget that it planned to make it illegal for a company to have no tax domicile.[1] The change in the tax law means that companies registered in Ireland for tax reasons will no longer be allowed to be ‘stateless’ in terms of…
Read MoreFINRA’s Shedding Light in the Dark of Off-Exchange Markets
By Thomas Ahmadifar, Associate Managing Editor On September 30, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) filed a rule with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to better regulate Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs).[1] ATSs, which come in many forms, provide traders with alternative mediums to trade stocks outside of the traditional stock exchanges like the…
Read MoreKeeping the BPAI in Check: Rambus Inc. v. Rea, 2013 WL 5312505 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 24, 2013)
Ronny Valdes On September 24, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, vacated-in-part, and remanded a decision of the Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences (BPAI),[1] on U.S. Patent No. 6,260,097 (ʼ097 patent), regarding claim construction and obviousness of the patent.[2] The Federal Circuit notably clarified the process the BPAI…
Read MoreShooting and Missing with Arkansas Teacher
Caleb Jones In Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v. Countrywide Financial Corporation[1](Arkansas Teacher), a derivative claim arising out of the 2008 financial meltdown, the Delaware Supreme Court penned a case study on the procedural pitfalls that derivative suits face before their merits may be argued in court. This action is the federal companion case to Arkansas…
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