Author Archives: Alexa Robertson

AALL 2019: Visit Us at Booth #110!

Practising Law Institute will be at the AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Washington, D.C. from July 13 – 16. Stop by to chat with our team and learn more about PLI and PLI PLUS. We know with all the interesting sessions and networking events taking place, conference schedules get booked fast—so save some time to visit us at the PLI booth!

You can find us at booth #110, where you can enter our raffle giveaway for an Amazon Echo Pro. Be sure to see a demonstration of PLI PLUS, learn about the latest enhancements to the platform, as well as new titles published by PLI Press.

We hope to see you at our Librarian Advisory Breakfast on Sunday, July 14th at 7:30am. 

Treatise Update: Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting

More patent applications are rejected because of claim drafting flaws than because of problems with inventions. A trusted working tool for more than two decades, Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting spotlights proven claim drafting practices and techniques that have been firmly established by patent authorities and custom. Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting also provides full coverage of U.S. Supreme Court and other court decisions critical to claim drafting.

In the latest release, author Robert C. Faber updates and expands his treatise with practical information and commentary on a variety of issues affecting patent claim drafting. Among the topics covered are the following:

  • Patent Office guidance: In November 2018 and January 2019, the USPTO issued updated guidance memorandums for examiners and administrative patent judges relating to (1) subject matter eligibility of patent claims under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and (2) examination of functional claim limitations under 35 U.S.C. § 112. The author highlights important points from these documents. See Chapter 1. Statutory Provisions—Some Basic Principles.
  • Preamble: The Federal Circuit notes that a preamble limits the invention if it recites an essential structure or step or is necessary to give life, meaning, and vitality to the claim. A preamble is not limiting when a patent claim defines a structurally complete invention in the claim body, which is after the preamble, and the preamble only states a purpose or intended use for the invention claimed (Acceleration Bay, LLC v. Activision Blizzard Inc.). See Chapter 2. Claim Forms and Formats in General.
  • Indefiniteness: According to a federal district court in Texas, when the specification has two different meanings for the same word or term, and the claim includes the different meanings for that word or term, the claim thereby lacks sufficient “objective boundaries,” so that the claim is indefinite and invalid (Intellectual Ventures LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc.). See Chapter 3. Apparatus or Machine Claims.
  • Claim differentiation: According to the Federal Circuit, if a dependent claim contains additional limitations not present in the independent claim, then—under the doctrine of claim differentiation—the limitations cannot be applied to limit the independent claim, since the specification does not limit the invention to those additional limitations (Knowles Electronics LLC v. Iancu). See Chapter 8. Nonart Rejections.

This essential treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

New Title! Business Taxation Deskbook

Business Taxation Deskbook is a guide to the fundamental principles governing the federal income tax treatment of domestic and international business transactions involving the organization, operation, and disposition of the four principal forms of business entity.

The Deskbook includes important coverage of the dramatic changes for businesses made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCAJA). It also looks at the federal income tax treatment of both inbound and outbound cross-border transactions and provides a basic introduction to state law issues in business taxation.

This book is designed to provide an introduction to the basic principles of business taxation and not to be the “last word” on any of these highly complex topics.

This new treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

New Edition! Net Leases and Sale-Leasebacks

Net Leases and Sale – Leasebacks: A Guide to Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies covers every aspect of the ownership, financing, documentation, taxation, and accounting for net leases and sale-leasebacks, focusing on those areas where the treatment of net leases and sale-leasebacks differs from the treatment of other forms of real estate investment.

Authored by specialist Ken Miller, this softbound guide, which assumes some basic understanding of the law and practice of real estate acquisitions, provides a detailed discussion of the important concepts underlying real estate investment transactions, as well as a clause-by-clause explanation of the mandatory and optional provisions of a net lease investment agreement.

This treatise title is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

What’s New for June

We add content to PLI PLUS every month to ensure our subscribers have access to the most up-to-date and relevant secondary source legal documents. Renowned legal experts regularly update our acclaimed Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books, Transcripts, and Forms to reflect recent changes and developments in the law.

Click here to see what we added in June!

PLI Press Journals

PLI Press publishes two journals–PLI Current: The Journal of PLI Press and PLI Current: White Collar Practice Journal. This page contains descriptions of each of these journals, as well as information on journal subscriptions.

PLI Current: The Journal of PLI Press is published quarterly and is available in print and online.

PLI Current: The Journal of PLI Press is a quarterly legal journal published by PLI Press and dedicated to providing timely and relevant analysis, insight, and commentary on topics of interest to practicing attorneys and others in the legal profession across a range of practice and interest areas. This journal contains original articles authored by practicing attorneys, including PLI authors and program faculty, as well as judges, scholars, and other professionals in the legal field with expertise in a given practice area or areas.

Print subscriptions include four issues for $300.00. Orders can be placed at www.pli.edu/PLICurrent. Online subscriptions include four issues per year as well as access to all back issues. Orders can be placed by emailing PLUS@pli.edu.

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PLI Current: White Collar Practice Journal is published at least twice annually and is available in print and online.

PLI Current: White Collar Practice Journal is a legal journal that focuses on white collar/financial crimes and related matters. This journal contains original articles authored by practicing attorneys, including PLI authors and program faculty, as well as judges, scholars, and other professionals in the legal field with expertise in a given practice area or areas.

Print subscriptions include two issues for $249.00 per year. Orders can be placed at www.pli.edu/PLICurrentWC. Online subscriptions include two issues per year as well as access to all back issues. Orders can be placed by emailing PLUS@pli.edu.

For information on purchasing individual print issues, discounts for students and educational institutions, enterprise-wide subscriptions, and any other inquiries, email PLUS@pli.edu.

New Title! Master the 10-K and 10-Q

The second in our SEC Compliance & Disclosure Series, Master the 10-K and 10-Q is your guide to preparing and filing the SEC’s annual Form 10-K and quarterly Form 10-Q, as required by the Exchange Act of 1934. Like its counterpart Master the 8-K, this step-by-step guide draws on the expertise of author Gary M. Brown to deliver clear coverage that highlights areas in which your company can implement or refine its disclosure controls and procedures in order to ensure accurate and timely filings. Key topics include:

  • Filing procedures and deadlines
  • Signature and certification requirements
  • Filing extensions
  • The impact of late filings
  • The “furnished” versus “filed” distinction
  • Technical aspects of incorporation by reference
  • Special rules for asset-backed issuers
  • Exhibit requirements

This standalone guide provides detailed analysis of both forms, as well as their related potential disclosure items, and is enhanced with compliance practice pointers and more than a dozen appendices containing related forms, regulations, and SEC guidance – everything you need to Master the 10-K and 10-Q.

This title is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

Treatise Update: Friedman on Leases

Friedman on Leases is widely regarded as the leading authority on commercial real estate leasing, recognized for its unsurpassed comprehensive and practical instruction, as well as its extensive and balanced coverage of the full range of tenant and landlord concerns. The updated Friedman on Leases, Sixth Edition continues to deliver not only the foundational knowledge required by novice practitioners, but also analysis of and insight into the most current and relevant developments facing seasoned practitioners in the commercial real estate field.

Highlights of this Release #6 include the following:

Sample Provisions; Determination of Cancellation Fee. New sample provision to determine the Cancellation Fee. (See Chapter 22. Option to Cancel Lease section 22:5.5)

Case Developments. Includes the latest developments in the following areas:

  • Interruption of Services. If a tenant can establish that the interruption of services has caused a constructive eviction of tenant, most courts have allowed tenants to plead constructive eviction as a defense to a non-payment of rent action (see Chapter 12. Landlord’s Services section 12:2);
  • Tenant’s Retention of Possession After End of Lease: Liability for Damages. A tenant may be found to have retained constructive possession of the premises, giving rise to a holdover tenancy, by failing to remove fixtures or improvements as required to restore the premises (see Chapter 18. Termination of Lease section 18:2);
  • Effect of Bankruptcy on Landlord’s Remedies for Default; Claims for Damages. In finding that the damages cap in section 502(b)(6) does not apply to damages for waste, trespass, or nuisance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals proposed a test to resolve the question of application of the cap, which test has been adapted by some jurisdictions (see Chapter 20. Tenant Bankruptcy section 20:6.3); and
  • Mechanics’ Lien. The New York Court of Appeals held that consent for purposes of the Lien Law can be inferred from lease terms, and no express consent or privity between landlord and contractor is required (see Chapter 23. Alterations and Improvements by Tenant section 23:9).

This essential treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

New Edition! Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana

Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana is a unique resource for lawyers who represent clients in what has been called the fastest growing industry in the United States. Many states now allow medical and/or recreational use of marijuana, but it remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. As a result, marijuana enterprises must operate in a legal and regulatory environment of uncertainty and rapid change, and lawyers representing these enterprises must tread carefully when advising clients.

Written by James T. O’Reilly, a lawyer and public health specialist, Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana offers critical guidance to help lawyers effectively represent their clients while steering clear of seen and as yet unseen perils implicit in the continued federal-state conflict. Highlights of the 2019 Edition include:

  • Discussion and summary of the new laws in Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah, the latest states to enact some form of legalization.
  • Coverage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”), which legalized production of hemp nationwide while also retaining the regulatory power of the FDA over CBD products derived from hemp.
  • Updated state-by-state Appendix of cannabis-related statutes, regulation, and court cases

This essential treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

Treatise Update: Hedge Fund Regulation

Covering on the of most dynamic and rapidly changing sectors of the asset management industry, Hedge Fund Regulation (Second Edition) is designed to provide comprehensive understanding of hedge funds. It provides a single source that examines all aspects of these innovative investment vehicles and addresses current regulatory concerns that impact hedge funds, their managers and investors. Hedge Fund Regulation is updated regularly by its author to keep current with regulatory and enforcement developments. The latest release addresses current issues in structuring, launching, and operating a hedge fund.

Highlights of Release #13 include:
Chapter 9, Privacy Regulations. Revises discussion on the management of cybersecurity risks by commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors to reflect recent updated guidance from the National Futures Association. See section 9:6.2.
Chapter 14, Books and Records. Discussion of recent SEC Risk Alert highlighting practices that can assist an investment adviser in meeting its obligations under the SEC’s Books and Records Rule and Compliance Rule with respect to the increasing use of electronic communications. See section 14:2.
Chapter 18, Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisers. New section 18:5.2, Internal Controls System, covering the NFA requirement for commodity pool operators to implement an internal controls system designed to protect operators to implement an internal controls system designed to protect customer funds, maintain accurate financial books and records, and assure compliance with NFA and CFTC requirements.
Chapter 23, Broker-Dealer Status and Relationships. Revised section 23:4, Best Execution, to include discussion of recently adopted revisions to Exchange Act Rules 600 and 606 regarding broker-dealer disclosure obligations on their handling of institutional orders and its implications for investment adviser best execution analysis.
Chapter 24, Disclosures of Market Participation. Revisions to discussion of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act) compliance, including updated HSR Act thresholds. See section 24:7.

This treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.