By: Davis|Kuelthau's Intellectual Property Team The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently turned to the social media presence and marketing of a DJ when evaluating the DJ’s claims of trademark infringement and dilution. In Kibler v. Hall, et al (6th Cir. Dec. 13, 2016), the court affirmed summary judgment for Robert Hall, a rapper performing...
By James E. Lowe, Jr. On January 12, 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) let expire one of its pilot program initiatives meant to improve the patent application process at the USPTO. Under the Post-Prosecution Pilot Program (P3), after an application had been refused, the applicant was given an opportunity to make their...
By Susan G. Schellinger Although insurance coverage is to be determined by the language of the policy at issue, court decisions addressing standard policy language can, and do, affect whether or not an insurance company will cover a claim. Throughout 2016, Wisconsin courts issued a number of decisions that may have wide-ranging impact on the...
By Benjamin J. Sauer The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s Whistleblower Protection Programs issued Recommended Practices for Anti-Retaliation Programs to assist employers with “creat[ing] workplaces in which workers feel comfortable voicing safety and other concerns without fear of retaliation.” The recommendations, while only...
By Jacqueline L. Messler The IRS has announced the 2017 inflation adjusted numbers for several important gift and estate tax exclusions. Each year, several key gift and estate tax exclusions are adjusted for inflations, including the estate tax exclusion, the annual gift tax exclusion, and the estate tax deduction for decedents dying with certain...
Late yesterday, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Final Rule and its regulations regarding the new salary thresholds for the so-called “white collar” exemptions that were set to go into effect on December 1st. The injunction not only prevents the regulations related to the Final Rule...
By Hugo P. Rojas This month marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the I-9 – the form that requires employers to check the immigration status of its prospective employees. While employers have become familiar with the process, over that time there have been 11 different versions of the I-9. So the introduction of the latest version,...
By Alec Dobson A federal rule that was to have banned pre-dispute arbitration agreements in nursing homes and other long-term care providers was put on hold by a federal judge on Monday. The new rule, which would apply to facilities participating in Medicare or Medicaid, was to go into effect on November 28, 2016. The rule was postponed...
By Robert W. Burns & Anthony J. Steffek In a resounding success for Wisconsin school districts, another attempt by the Wisconsin Education Association Council to use the courts to re-insert pre-Act 10 collectively bargained terms into individual teaching contracts has been rejected. In Marks, et al. v. Board of Education of the Wisconsin...
By Hugo P. Rojas A recent unpublished opinion of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirms the principle that Wisconsin school districts are authorized to unilaterally determine the amount of retiree benefits offered in the post-Act 10 era. The Court’s August 2016 ruling in Townsend v. Neenah Joint School District brought closure to a series of...
