Category Archives: PLI PLUS

There’s More to the Story: Hidden Treasures on PLI PLUS

“Amusing” is perhaps not the first word to come to mind when describing the content you find in a legal research database. But every once in a while, you’ll come across a chapter on PLI PLUS that causes pure delight. In honor of the theme of this year’s National Library Week — “There’s More to the Story” — we’ve scoured our database to present a handful of fun, offbeat, zany, or just plain fascinating tidbits from the depths of PLI PLUS.

Anyone who practices intellectual property law surely has heard of the monkey selfie and the infamous whiskey-branded dog chew toy. Equally endearing (and hilarious) are the descriptions of feline exercise in this chapter from 2020’s Patent Fundamentals Bootcamp course handbook:

Chapter 16. Examiner Interview Script for Method of Exercising a Cat

Snippet: This method recites method of inducing aerobic exercise in an unrestrained cat; and directing an intense coherent beam of laser light … in a vicinity of the cat. Redirecting the light to induce the cat to chase it. We are not inducing humans to chase the spot from the laser pointer.

For a dose of celebrity drama, check out this chapter from the 2016 course handbook Fundamentals of Taking and Defending Depositions, which features a transcript from a deposition in which Lady Gaga testifies against her ex-best friend/former assistant:

Chapter 5. S.J. Germanotta, Deposition Transcript, Case 1:11-cv-09128-PGG (January 30, 2013)

Snippet: Because she slept in Egyptian cotton sheets every night, in five-star hotels, on private planes, eating caviar, partying with Terry Richardson all night, wearing my clothes, asking YSL to send her free shoes without my permission, using my YSL discount without my permission.

In this lively transcript from last year’s Advertising Law Institute, you’ll find a hysterical sequel to a classic children’s book, in which the main character is all grown up and a lawyer:

The Advertising Lawyer and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Snippet:  In high school and in college, he thought he was a real bad dude. And he started smoking and maybe hanging around with a rough crowd. But I have good news for you. He turned things around, and he eventually went to law school.

The artist Banksy makes an appearance alongside a succinct history of graffiti and a fascinating discussion of Street Art and the law in this chapter from the popular PLI treatise Art Law: The Guide for Collectors, Investors, Dealers & Artists (Fifth Edition):

Chapter 12: Moral Rights

Snippet: Although, from the 1960s on, a number of these artists of the street sought to initiate political change and enhance community awareness of particular issues through their art, the public largely viewed the early graffiti artists as vandals and few supported their work.

The treatise Trial Evidence Brought to Life: Illustrations from Famous Trials, Film and Fiction is chock full of pop culture. We’re particularly fond of the chapter that recalls Marissa Tomei’s superb performance as an expert witness in the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny:

Chapter 14. Expert Testimony and Lay Opinion Testimony

Snippet: Well, my father was a mechanic, his father was a mechanic, my mother’s father was a mechanic, my three brothers are mechanics, four uncles on my father’s side are mechanics.

Finally, as members of the law librarian community, this chapter from 1997’s Managing the Law Library course handbook is especially dear to our hearts. Some might call it outdated, but we see it as an amusing reminder of how far our profession has come in the last several decades. It also illustrates how librarians are always looking ahead — because there’s more to the story!

Chapter 3. THE CD DEBATE: WILL THEY BE PART OF THE FUTURE

Snippet: Will publishers replace CDs altogether by licensing contents on the Internet for access and downloading?

Treatise Update –Sack on Defamation: Libel, Slander, and Related Problems (Fifth Edition)

Sack on Defamation—widely cited by U.S. courts including the U.S. Supreme Court, academics, and attorneys—offers strategic guidance for both plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys and fully covers the basic elements of a defamation claim. The treatise pinpoints how to identify practical legal issues such as when “truth” is not a defense, insults and name-calling that cross the line into defamation, how “public disclosure of private facts” becomes actionable, why statements of “opinion” are not protected, and when defamatory communications are privileged. It also integrates coverage of Internet and social media issues.

Highlights of the new release include developments covering the following topics:

  • Statements held to be nonactionable: Discussion of a Delaware case in which the court considered the issue of whether a letter to an employer calling an employee’s outside actions “racist” is constitutionally protected (see section 4:3.5).
  • Standard of conduct: public plaintiffs: The list of “vortex” public figures has been expanded (see section 5:3.5).
  • Standard of conduct: private plaintiffs: Coverage of a case about whether the 2020 amendments to New York’s anti-SLAPP statute are retroactive (see section 6:4).
  • Absolute privilege and government agencies: Summary of an unusual case from Oregon concerning false statements entered into a patient’s medical record by physicians who worked for a public corporation health system (see section 8:2.4[A]).
  • Invited defamation: Spotlights a case from the Second Circuit in which former U.S. Senate candidate and Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore accused comedian Sacha Baron Cohen of defamation for falsely portraying Moore as a pedophile in a mock interview for Cohen’s television program (see section 8:2.8).

In addition, the Table of Cases, the Defendant-Plaintiff Table, and the Index have been updated.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

What’s New on PLI PLUS

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 April 2023!     

New Edition! Healthcare Employment Practice: Policy, Law and Procedure (2023 Edition)

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Healthcare Employment Practice: Policy, Law and Procedure.

This guidebook presents clearly-written, concise insights into how hospital management teams, healthcare human resources professionals, and the legal practitioners who advise them can navigate the ever-changing regulatory landscape around employment in the healthcare industry.

The treatise’s authors, James T. O’Reilly, Director of the Concentration in Health Services Management at the UC College of Medicine, and Mary Ellen Keegan, former in-house counsel for GE’s Aviation Division who has since negotiated favorably for MDs in disputes with insurance companies and healthcare organizations, offer actionable practices gleaned from their experiences working with physicians and public health regulatory issues.

Featuring sample contractual clauses, this resource discusses how doctors, stakeholders, and their lawyers can leverage astute planning and careful drafting to overcome emerging employment and transactional issues. In addition, the authors include tailored discussions on regulatory and transactional issues unique to physicians, registered nurses, and non-credentialed healthcare employees.

Healthcare Employment Practice includes:

  • Step-by-step, term-by-term guidance on physician employment contracts, with an emphasis on the problems presented by restrictive covenants, and a full sample Physician Employment Agreement (see Chapter 9, Chapter 10, and Appendix B);
  • A fifty-state survey of noncompete statutes and selected case law (see Appendix A – fully updated for 2023);
  • Labor and employment law as it affects healthcare industry employees in the areas of Collective Bargaining and Overtime Pay (see Chapter 14 and Chapter 19), Strikes and Lockouts (see Chapter 17), Safety Rules (see Chapter 20), and Conflict Resolution (see Chapter 21);
  • Issues presented by telemedicine (see Chapter 27);
  • Stark and anti-kickback law compliance (see Chapter 26);
  • Employment discrimination in healthcare: physician whistleblower, discrimi­nation, harassment, and retaliation claims (see Chapter 22).

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Free Legal Form of the Month

PLI PLUS offers unlimited electronic access to more than 4,500 downloadable, searchable, and editable legal forms ready for use in your practice. To showcase this unique content type, we’ve selected one form per month and made it available for anyone to download for free – no subscription required.

April’s free form:

Sample Interim DIP Financing Order

More information about Legal Forms & Checklists:

  • Forms & Checklists Flyer – This flyer provides an overview of the forms & checklists on PLI PLUS and highlights a handful of popular examples.
  •  Popular PLUS Forms – This flyer provides a list of the top five most downloaded forms in prominent practice areas on PLI PLUS.

Send us an email at plus@pli.edu to learn more.

Treatise Update – Patent Litigation (Third Edition)

Patent Litigation (Third Edition) enhances every patent litigator’s ability to prevail at trial while helping to cut the costs and complexity of litigation. Written by leading patent litigators, the treatise provides guidance on various infringement actions and their respective burdens of proof.  It also offers pointers on conducting comprehensive pre-suit investigations; developing potent case themes; assembling strong litigation teams; developing smart litigation budgets; maximizing the persuasive impact of documents, exhibits, and witnesses; and making savvy use of computers, jury consultants, and litigation support vendors.

The new release covers many important developments, such as:

  • Corporate disclosures under Rule 7.1 and the hotly debated issue of whether recent court-imposed disclosure requirements are justified or permissible (see new section 3:7).
  • Two cases from district courts on the standard for assessing com­munications between the buyer and seller and licensor/licensee of patent rights made before the transactions closed (see section 5:4.2).
  • Case law from the federal circuit regarding an overly broad in­junctive relief in the design patent context (see section 10:5.1).
  • Case law involving Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna’s claim that it is shielded from an infringement lawsuit in district court because of its agreement to supply the vaccine to the federal government (see section 14:2.2).
  • The PTAB’s clarification on its guidance for discretionary denial of IPR due to the advanced state of a parallel proceeding under Fintiv and the implications for the global defense strategy of re­spondents in ITC proceedings (see sections 14:4.9 and 15:3).
  • Circulation judge pool review, the PTO’s new internal procedure designed to improve overall quality of PTAB final written deci­sions (see new section 15:8.3).

For additional recent developments in patent litigation, check out this recent PLI Chronicle article, Patent Antibody Case Law Continues to Mature.

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PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update – The Circular 230 Deskbook: Related Penalties, Reportable Transactions, Working Forms

The Circular 230 Deskbook is an essential compliance resource for every tax professional who practices before the IRS.  It helps practitioners comply with complex Circular 230 amendments more easily — and avoid costly penalties and sanctions.  In addition to demonstrating prescribed duties when advising clients in the preparation of tax returns, it offers quick-reference compliance tools.

This release updates the treatise with the latest developments in tax and estate law relating to IRS Circular 230.   Highlights from the new release include:

  • Chapter 1, Section 1:2: Discussion of West Virginia v. EPA, in which the Supreme Court addressed whether, in the context of a major question, an agency is permitted to invoke general statutory authority in support of a regulation absent a clear statement from Congress.
  • Chapter 3, Section 3:5: Explains whether a notice designating a transaction as a Listed Transaction is a legislative rule that requires notice and comment under the Administrative Procedure Act.
  • Chapter 4, Section 4:17.2: Explores the Supreme Court’s holding in National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, about whether a vaccine mandate imposed by OSHA implicated the major-questions doctrine.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

What’s New on PLI PLUS

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 March 2023!     

Treatise Update – Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting (Seventh Edition)

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. The treatise provides full coverage of U.S. Supreme Court and other court decisions critical to claim drafting. This time-saving handbook offers start-to-finish directions for and real-world examples of each type of claim and numerous tips on how to avoid common claim drafting mistakes.

The many revisions throughout this release continue to assist practitioners in drafting the most effective types of claims for each type of invention. Highlights of the new release include:

  • Updated Chapter 2 explains how a patent claim may be novel but still obvious thereby invalidating the claim (see section 2:7.1) and provides additional instruction on how to determine whether a claim is dependent or independent from a previous claim (see section 2:9).
  • Expanded § 3:9 offers suggested language to include in the patent application or claim of a machine or apparatus if seeking both a U.S. patent and patent protection abroad.
  • Revised § 5:5 provides additional details on how the effective filing date of a claim in a continuation-in-part application is determined.
  • Updated §6:2 expounds on what constitutes Markush expressions.
  • Expanded § 8:3 details how a terminal disclaimer prevents a second patent application by one patentee from being deemed an impermissible double patenting of a previous claim.

In addition, Appendices A, B, and C2 have been updated.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.