Articles

04.15.13

Protecting Fashion Product Designs Under the Lanham Act

Unlike in other countries, especially in Europe, the legal protections afforded to the design and appearance of fashion clothing and accessories in the United States are relatively limited. Under U.S. copyright law, "useful articles," such as clothing, handbags and footwear, are expressly ...


04.08.13

Commentary: A Vision for the Future of Fannie and Freddie

In a little-noticed report issued in February, the Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Commission recently painted an interesting picture of the future role of the federal government in housing finance. Titled Housing Future: New Directions for National Policy, the paper takes a view that is both ...


03.26.13

Real Property Buy Goes Bad: Who to Call?

Commercial property buyers spend a lot of time carefully negotiating for seller representations and warranties that the seller is authorized to do the deal, no litigation affects the property, the property is in good condition, and the seller is not a registered terrorist.Sellers counter by ...


03.01.13

Sporting Chance

Conceived in a Harvard Law Review article by Louis Brandeis in 1890, the right of publicity has been the subject of only one US Supreme Court opinion in the intervening 123 years. Considering that that opinion was rendered 36 years ago regarding an old-fashioned human cannonball act and considering ...


02.27.13

Structured Finance Negotiations, 'Bad Boy' Carve-Outs

Hypothetical: Borrower secures a non-recourse loan to acquire a commercial office building and concurrently leases it to a cloud based internet start-up company. The loan is secured only by the real property but is subject to certain "bad boy" exceptions for borrower misconduct (including ...


02.19.13

SEC Approves NYSE and NASDAQ Rules on Compensation Committees and Advisers

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved new listing requirements promulgated by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market relating to the composition of and oversight by compensation committees. The listing requirements, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and ...


02.13.13

States Take Practical Path on Exchanges

When the Affordable Care Act was debated in Congress, the House of Representatives wanted one federal exchange and as much federal control of state insurance markets as possible. The Senate wanted state insurance exchanges and state flexibility to tailor market rules to local market conditions.The ...


02.08.13

Securitized Loans Re-Emerge: Borrowers Beware!

The securitized loan market, long dormant in the recession of the last four years, appears poised to recover much of its pre-recession share of the lending market in 2013.  These low-interest, high-transaction cost loans are often the best option for borrowers of large loans on well-stabilized ...


02.07.13

The Hard Cell

The mobile banking and payment industry is booming. Growth is not limited to bank consumers using smart phones for paying bills or transferring funds. Retailers and e-tailers are cashing in too with their own applications ("apps") and services that offer on-line shopping, point-of-sale ...


01.23.13

Newly-Released HIPAA Omnibus Rule Modifies Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Requirements

On January 17, 2013, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a long-awaited omnibus rule (the "Omnibus Rule"), which modifies a wide range of privacy, security and breach notification requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and ...