Latest News & Alerts

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Who Will Be Willful?

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Enhanced damages—up to three times the amount of the actual damages, plus attorneys’ fees—require a demonstration of willful infringement. As mentioned before, an infringer acts willfully if it knew of the patent, but nonetheless acted despite an objectively high likelihood that its actions constituted infringement of a valid patent. Because much more than chump change...

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Indeliberate Action

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Induced infringement has a knowledge requirement, which can be satisfied by a demonstration of willful blindness that the acts induced constituted patent infringement. A party is willfully blind if it believed there was a high probability that the acts induced constitute patent infringement and took deliberate steps to avoid learning of the infringement. It is...

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“The Meds Made Me Do It” – Medication Side-Effects and the ADA

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In this article, Connor Beatty examines whether an employee who takes medication with significant side-effects can be considered “disabled” for the purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act even if their underlying condition would not, on its own, qualify the employee as disabled. He also outlines several steps employers should take when they suspect that...

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Five Brann & Isaacson Attorneys Named Super Lawyers

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Super Lawyers Magazine Brann & Isaacson congratulates its five Super Lawyers for 2013: George S. Isaacson (Business Litigation, Tax); Martin I. Eisenstein (Tax, Business Litigation, Business/Corporate); Martha E. Greene (Estate Planning & Probate, Non–Profit, Estate & Trust Litigation); Peter J. Brann (Intellectual Property Litigation, Business Litigation, Administrative Law); and Stacy O. Stitham (Rising Star in...

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B&I Highly Recommended By Benchmark Litigation

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Benchmark Litigation Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to America’s leading litigation firms and attorneys, has named Brann & Isaacson a Highly Recommended Firm for 2014. Clients consulted as part of Benchmark Litigation’s analysis of the firm’s practice cite B&I’s practical approach to litigation, and describe its attorneys as no–nonsense lawyers who know how to mitigate...

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Before We Begin…

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As noted this fall, the issue of fee shifting (i.e. the discretion of a trial court to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in an “exceptional” case) is before the Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear two upcoming cases on that point: Highmark v. Allcare Health Management Systems and Octane Fitness v. Icon Health & Fitness. Not to...

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FTC Posts Comments On Patent Trolls/Assertion Entities

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Last week, we highlighted the comments of attorneys general in 42 states and Guam on the patent troll problem in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s call for comments on patent assertion entities, suggesting that you stay tuned. The FTC has now published the comments it received from all sides of the issue—individual inventors, individual businesses, trade groups in...

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State Tax Notes Names B&I Attorney To Top Ten List of Influential Persons in State Tax in 2013

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State Tax Notes State Tax Notes has for the second time named George S. Isaacson one of the top ten individuals influencing state tax policy and practice in 2013. State Tax Notes lauded Isaacson for his work in two of the highest profile state tax cases of 2013. Isaacson represents the Direct Marketing Association in...

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2013 Year-End Estate Planning

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Estate Planning Alert As we explained in our March 2013 client alert, Estate and Gift Planning after the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act, the federal estate tax planning landscape is stable for the first time in many years.  The 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act (“ARTA”) established a $5 Million unified gift and estate exemption, indexed...

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Federalism At Work

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As readers may know, the FTC has initiated a study of patent assertion entities. Adding their voice to those who have responded is a recent letter of comment from the National Association of Attorneys General, signed by 42 of the states and Guam. Calling PAEs, or trolls, a “growing consumer protection problem,” causing a “kind of silent extortion”...

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