It's a fairly common story in the realm of intellectual property: A new business starts up, only to discover another business already has the same name. The already established business goes after the new one, which ends up changing its name. Usually, the business...
Business Law Professionals
Month: December 2011
Small businesses, nonprofits opt to merge for survival
When most people think of business mergers, it's behemoth corporations that come to mind. Banks and technology companies have made a habit of absorbing each other with the promise of even huger profits than they were making before. But what about small businesses and...
Football underdog “Rudy” Ruettiger settles lawsuit with SEC
His can-do spirit inspired a legion of Notre Dame fans and a Hollywood movie, but Daniel Ruettiger, also known as "Rudy," has since disappointed stockholders and inspired the Securities and Exchange Commission to file a federal lawsuit against him for a "pump and...
“Real Housewives” stars tied up in trademark lawsuit over drink
A Canadian design and marketing company is going after two stars of the reality show "Real Housewives of New Jersey," claiming they and others stole its idea for "blackwater," a new health drink that sounds about as appetizing as, well, a trademark infringement...
Author sues Angelina Jolie for copyright infringement
There are artists who say that there are no truly original ideas, that every work of art is influenced by something else, consciously or not. But the author of a book on the Balkan conflict of the 1990s isn't taking that viewpoint with his copyright infringement...
Former executive: My employer turned me into a scapegoat
In the event that you ran into legal trouble related to your job, you might expect that your company would rush to your defense. But as some high-level brokerage industry executives have demonstrated recently with their own commercial litigation, that's not a safe...
Entergy to spin off transmission business, merge it with another
In a move designed to improve efficiency of the electric grid and avoid huge capital costs, power company Entergy announced it would spin off its electric transmission business and merge it with another, Michigan-based ITC Holdings Corp. The $1.78 billion deal was...
Breach of contract suit filed over licensing of TV star’s name
An agreement to use "Jersey Shore" TV star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's name on a wide variety of merchandise has resulted in a breach of contract lawsuit. The entertainment figure is seeking to end her licensing arrangement with SRG Ventures. The signing of the deal was...