Recent cases warn franchisors to be wary of 'Kodak' liability

Article Abstract:

No franchisor can set up an approved supplier program that is immune to litigation. To minimize successful tying claims, however, enough disclosure that no franchisee can legitimately claim to have been surprised may be a good idea. The majority in Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Services, Inc. found that there were cases where the relevant product market in terms of a tying agreement could be defined in terms of the manufacturer's own products. This condition gives most manufacturers the market power necessary to find a per se illegal tying arrangement.

Cases, Franchises, Tying agreements, Tying arrangements

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Audits are preventive medicine for companies: a thorough inventory today can forestall litigation tomorrow

Article Abstract:

Intellectual property audits can prevent future copyright infringement suits by evaluating all the company's potential intellectual property assets and determining when copyright, patent or trademark protection is possible. Since the validity of trade secret suits is often based on how the information was protected previous to the infringement, an audit is a reasonable way to determine when protection is necessary or possible. Multiple authored works can also be checked to ensure that all authors have signed a written agreement.

Usage, Internal auditing

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Whenever patents, trademarks or copyrights are at issue in a transaction, counsel should conduct a thorough due diligence inquiry of the rights at stake

Article Abstract:

Thorough due diligence inquiries are key to the protection of intellectual property rights in mergers. Due diligence in intellectual property transactions investigations include whether the acquiring party owns the assets to be acquired or has a license right to their use, the validity and enforceability of any intellectual property rights, whether a third party holds any such rights. Internet issues such as legality of the domain name should also be investigated.

Laws, regulations and rules, Acquisitions and mergers

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