By James M. Kalny In the landmark case of State ex rel Newspapers v. Showers Wis 2d 77(1987), the Wisconsin Supreme Court first warned public officials of the dangers of engaging in a “walking quorum”—a series of gatherings among separate groups of members of a governmental body, each less than quorum size, who agree, tacitly or explicitly, to...
The evolution of electronic social media presents numerous complications in regulating employee conduct which may cause problems for the public sector employer. Employers must carefully balance liability considerations with privacy issues when regulating an employee's non-work related communications on work-issued computers, cell phones or other...
Background It is becoming increasingly common for elected officials to use electronic media such as websites or chat rooms to communicate with their constituents. While providing information or a forum to the voters is well intended, the sites and communications are likely public records, and the information exchanges may even constitute public...
By D&K's Labor & Employment Team The Wisconsin and United States Supreme Courts have made it clear that when public sector employees check into work, they do not leave their privacy rights at the door. Searches and seizures of an employee’s private property and affects are subject to Fourth Amendment restraints. Whether an employee has a...
Two recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provide new tools for design patent holders and new hazards for those attempting to design around products covered by design patents. What are Design Patents? Design patents are directed to a non-utilitarian or non-functional design that is embodied in or applied to a product or...
It's that time of year again - PTO Set to Increase Fees In addition to the comprehensive Patent Reform Act which is winding its way through Congress, Rep. John Conyers (D – Mich) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R – Tex) recently introduced the "Patent and Trademark Office Funding Stabilization Act of 2010" (the "Stabilization Act"). The bill combines...
In our recently issued Client Alert regarding the rash of False Marking lawsuits, we advised that the Federal Circuit had reinterpreted the False Marking statute in the Forest Group v. Bon Tool case to permit damages on a "per article" basis. Forest Group originally sued Bon Tool for infringement of its patent on stilts used by drywallers....
If your place of employment has recently down-sized and you have lost your position, or if you want to make a pre-emptive strike before that happens, you may have toyed with the notion of owning your own franchised business. Most prospective franchisees have the notion that, by owning a franchised business, they will, in fact, be their own boss....
Simply put, a license is nothing more than permission given to do something that would otherwise be considered illegal absent that permission. In the licensing of computer software, what permission is given, how is it given and to whom? In the real world, software licensing arises in one of two very different situations.... Read Full Article
Simply put, a license is nothing more than permission given to do something that would otherwise be considered illegal absent that permission. In the licensing of computer software, what permission is given, how is it given and to whom? In the real world, software licensing arises in one of two very different situations.... Read Full Article
