Category Archives: Treatise

Review of PLI’s Social Media and the Law

Social Media and the Law

PLI’s Social Media and the Law received a very nice review from the Orange County Business Attorney Blog, which you can view here.  The Treatise is available for purchase here and is also accessible online on our eBook library, PLI Discover PLUS. Interested in learning more about this book or PLI Discover PLUS? Contact PLI’s Library Relations team at PLI Library Relations or call 877-900-5291.

Social Media and the Law – Book Review 

A few months ago, the Practicing Law Institute, a well-known publisher of legal practice guides, asked me to comment on its new book, Social Medial and the Law.  I agreed to do so because I was curious as to what was in the book and wanted to find out whether this book could be an aid to my practice as a business litigation attorney and to my clients.

After a few weeks of reading the book, I find that it is a valuable resource for me as a business litigator.

My office is in Orange County, California, and I have served the business communities here for more than a decade.  My clientele comprises small to medium sized businesses, with most them doing business internationally.  Like most attorneys, I have been seeing a gigantic shift of focus to social media in business, as they have become an integral part of my clients’ business.

I often receive calls from clients inquiring about how to deal with untrue comments from disgruntled customers that have been posted on the Internet, how to create an office policy regarding social media (both the company’s and employees’), how to deal with trademark or other intellectual property infringements, and how to defend clients from a claim arising out of social media.

I find this book valuable because the author covers the topics thoroughly and with a focus on the importance of each area.  Unlike other practice guides that try to impress the reader with the details of information, this book focuses on only the essentials, so that once I have enough information that deals with a client’s situation, I then can focus on the legal research that specifically addresses the issue of what the client is experiencing.  The content of this book is balanced between simplicity and sufficiency.  I don’t feel that I am buried under all the facts and details that may or may not apply to my client’s situation, and yet I feel that the information given is sufficient to help me discuss the matter intelligently with the client and focus my effort on subsequent legal research and preparation for the case.

Chapters 2 to 9 are the meat of the book, in my opinion; they deal with every conceivable issue that may come up in the context of social media, such as the following:

  • Privacy
  • Copyrights, ownership, and control of content
  • Trademarks and brand protection
  • Defamation, other torts, and related cybercrimes
  • Employment and workplace issues
  • Compliance considerations for regulated industry (healthcare, financial, publicly traded company, etc.)
  • Advertising

Although Kathryn L. Ossian is listed on the book cover and is identified as the editor, there are other contributing writers with equally impressive resumes in their areas of expertise.

As a business litigation and trial attorney, without being an expert in the field, I often need to have a grasp on sufficient expertise on the issues before me to formulate the litigation strategies and to tell the story to the judge or jury at the time of trial.  This book helps me to accomplish just that in the area of social media.

 

 

PLI’s Kane on Trademark Law on Wells IP Law

Kane 6eCheck out this nice mention of PLI’s treatise, Kane on TradeMark Law: A Practitioner’s Guide 6th Edition , on Wells IP Law here.  You can purchase the book by clicking here.  Kane on Trademark Law is also available on our eBook library platform PLI Discover PLUS.   Interested in learning more about this book or PLI Discover PLUS? Contact PLI’s Library Relations team at PLI Library Relations or call 877-900-5291.

Kane on Trademarks – Book Review 

By: Nicholas Wells | April 19, 2014

Siegrun D. Kane.  2013.  Kane on Trademark Law: A Practitioner’s Guide (6th Edition). Practising Law Institute: New York. 1071 pages.  $395 from publisher; $375.25 from Amazon.com

I work in several areas of law—copyright, social media, technology agreements, advertising and promotions—but at the moment, I spend the largest part of my day working on trademark matters.  If you’re familiar with trademark law, you know that the leading work in the field, cited by hundreds of court decisions, is J. Thomas Mc Carthy’s treatise, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition.  Coming in at seven volumes—and growing, and with a front matter and Table of Contents that stretches 154 pages, McCarthy can be… unwieldy.  The $ 4,500 price tag may also be a concern for many smaller firms or lawyers who don’t spend all day handling trademarks.  Still, it is the resource everyone quotes.

So when PLI offered to send me a review copy of Kane on Trademark Law by Siegrun D. Kane, I was curious to see how it compared.

The short answer:  For most lawyers and in-house counsel, Kane’s book is the better choice.

Don’t get me wrong.  If you’re litigating trademark cases in federal court, you’ll probably like having McCarthy around.  But most of us don’t do that.  Kane on Trademark Law, now in its Sixth Edition, seems committed to remaining a one-volume work.  That choice is emblematic of its usefulness.  Everything you’re likely to need to know about trademarks is in your hand.  Kane is subtitled A Practitioner’s Guide.  Not a Judge’s Guide, or a Professor’s Guide, or even a Litigator’s Guide.

The Kane text is well organized, well footnoted, and well written, with headings that make it easy to find the topic you need.  (It also has a 60-page index.)  There are sections on false advertising, litigation, Internet infringements, licensing, and dilution, in addition to the sections you’d expect to find on clearing marks for registration, prosecution procedures, and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Kane also comes with a CD-ROM that contains the entire text of the volume in searchable, linked PDF files, carefully formatted to match the printed book.  I’ve found this to be tremendously useful.

As an example of the different approach of Kane and McCarthy, consider the key trademark issue of likelihood of confusion between trademarks.  Kane has 35 pages on the topic, plus another 20 focused on counterfeiting.  McCarthy devotes Volume 3 to the topic—800 or so pages—plus innumerable related sections that appear in other volumes (See, e.g., Chapter 31, Volume 6, Defenses to Infringement).  Or consider the sections on Inter Partes TTAB proceedings.  Kane has 54 pages of succinct text on topics that include procedures, grounds, defenses, burden of proof, and review routes for TTAB decisions.  McCarthy devotes… well, you get the idea.

I love McCarthy, but I keep using Kane because most of the time, I don’t have the time to use McCarthy.  And my clients don’t have the money.  Kane reminds me of the points I need to know.  It references the statutory sections and leading cases.  It summarizes and recommends practice steps without as much scholarly background.  Most days, it’s just the better tool for what I need.

I think that’s also true for those, like in-house counsel, who are dealing with trademarks, social media, advertising, employment, real estate leases, contract disputes… and that’s just before lunch.  Kane on Trademarks will serve in-house counsel by providing guidance on most trademark issues that they are likely to face.  They’ll hire litigators to take trademark cases to the Federal Circuit and they will use McCarthy.

Kane does miss some areas that I wish it included.  There appears to be nothing about ex parte appeals at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.  Perhaps it’s not a critical topic for most readers, but I’d like to see more on it.  There is a little about using the Madrid Protocol, but virtually nothing about international trademark protection.  This is clearly a book about U.S. law, but given its apparent target audience, at least a brief section on how international trademarks operate with some strategy pointers and references would be appropriate.  Finally, there isn’t much about the procedures for handling disputes.  True, those procedures are based on the TTAB manual and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  But guidance in a book like this goes a long way to help those not familiar with the rules.

Despite a few minor weaknesses, Kane on Trademarks seems to spend a lot of time on the corner of my desk.

PLI Discover PLUS Mentioned in Virginia Lawyer

Virginia Lawyer

Many thanks to Professor Timothy Coggins for his nice mention of PLI Discover PLUS in the December 2013 edition of Virginia Lawyer.

In “Discovering E-Discovery: A Resources Guide”, Coggins, the Associate Dean for Library and Information Services at Richmond, reviews a number of helpful resources on electronic discovery.  In particular, he highlights Chapter 3, “The Courts Intervene with Model Rules to Curb the Costs of E-Discovery: Will It Work and Should Litigants Use these Model Rules in the Rule 26(f) Conference” from our Course Handbook, Electronic Discovery Guidance 2012: What Corporate and Outside Counsel Need to Know in addition to our acclaimed Treatise, Electronic Discovery Deskbook.

Coggins also mentions how easy it is to access these titles on our eBook library, PLI Discover PLUS.

Interested in learning more about these books or PLI Discover PLUS? Contact PLI’s Library Relations team at PLI Library Relations or call 877-900-5291.

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New Edition! Derivatives Deskbook: Close-Out Netting, Risk Mitigation, Litigation (2nd Edition)

Derivatives DeskbookDerivatives Deskbook: Close-Out Netting, Risk Mitigation, Litigation is a comprehensive derivatives resource geared to all users of swap agreements and derivatives, from financial institutions to corporate end users.

This new second edition defines the key terminology; identifies the major players; discusses the full range of documentation; and highlights risk mitigation techniques and best practices that can significantly minimize risks. Derivatives Deskbook examines the termination events and events of default that can trigger the early termination of OTC derivative transactions; the important process of closing out these deals; and the complex process of calculating the early termination amounts due the parties under the transactions, as well as how these transactions can be terminated in ways that minimize the damage to the parties and to the global financial system.

Most importantly, Derivatives Deskbook provides a comprehensive resource to all key litigation cases involving derivative transactions around the key jurisdictions in the world. It is an essential resource for every lawyer or business person engaged in derivative transactions.

Check out this new edition on our eBook library, PLI Discover PLUS, today!

PLI Treatises Updated in March 2014

In March 2014, PLI updated the following Treatises:

If you are on standing order for any of these titles, the releases have already been shipped. If you would like to place an order, please email PLI Library Relations or call 877-900-5291

Federal Bail and Detention Handbook 2014

Federal Bail 2014“The savings in time alone, as you try to prepare for an initial or detention hearing, makes the Handbook a bargain.”
—Defense Magazine

The Federal Bail and Detention Handbook 2014 is now available.  This soft cover treatise has been published to help readers find answers in a hurry and its size makes it convenient to be carried to and from the courtroom.

The Bail Reform Act of 1984 and its legislative history are lengthy and complex. Yet all federal court participants–lawyers, judges, and others–are required to understand the Act thoroughly and apply it swiftly and effectively, often under the pressure of a detention hearing.

Authored by the Honorable John L. Weinberg, this title provides the busy practicing lawyer or judge with a quick and clear reference to the Act and all of the relevant statutory language, legislative history and appellate case law.

Judge Weinberg has included “Practice Pointers”, which are designed to provide defense counsel and Assistant U.S. Attorneys with strategic suggestions for dealing with the Act.  The Handbook’s Table of Cases lists every federal appellate decision of significant precedential value that interprets or applies the Act.

The paperback format of this 2014 edition has been tailored to help readers find answers in a hurry. Its size permits it to be carried conveniently to and from the courtroom.

The book is $185.00 per copy, not including shipping charges of $7.50 per title, per consignee location.  There is a discount rate of 20% for 3 or more copies and of 33% for 100 or more copies.  To order a copy, contact the PLI Library Relations Help Desk or call 877-900-5291.

New Release for International Corporate Practice Published in February 2014

International Corporate PracticeIn February 2014, PLI pulished International Corporate Practice Release # 8.

If you are on standing order for this title or have a Standing Order Plan with PLI, this release has already been shipped to you. If you would like to place an order, please email PLI Library Relations or call 877-900-5291

AALL Reviews PLI’s FASHION LAW AND BUSINESS Treatise

fashionFashion Law and Business, PLI’s new Treatise, has been getting rave reviews!  Check out the latest review from AALL here and below.  If you have any questions or would like to order the book, please email the PLI Library Relations Department or call 877-900-5291.

Book Review: Fashion Law and Business: Brands & Retailers

BY: Andreea Alexander | February 14, 2014 at 10:56 AM

Lois F. Herzeca & Howard S. Hogan.  2013. Fashion Law and Business: Brands and Retailers.  Practising Law Institute: New York.  847 pages.  $185 from publisher; $145.48 from Amazon.com

While the subject hasn’t yet garnered the broad name recognition of practice areas like sports law and entertainment law, those familiar with the actual study and practice of fashion law understand that it’s about more than whether you should match your shoes to your belt (or even the Louboutin red soles case).   Fashion law encompasses a broad range of issues such as corporate law, international trade, labor and employment, real estate, and of course intellectual property.  And now, with Fashion Law and Business: Brands & Retailers, Lois F. Herzeca and Howard S. Hogan take fashion law a little further into the mainstream legal world.

If your library purchases only one book on fashion law, this should be it.  Now, admittedly, there are only a handful of books explicitly dedicated to fashion law currently in print, so the options are fairly limited.  But in my opinion, this book is by far the most helpful for students and practitioners alike.  As one might deduce from the publisher, the Practising Law Institute, this text is targeted more toward practitioners, and was in fact written by two attorneys who Co-Chair their firm’s Fashion, Retail and Consumer Products Practice Group.   The authors explain in the introduction, “[T]his book is structured on the presumption that fashion law can be best examined in the context of an understanding of the business and operations of the fashion industry.”  This is not a casebook, and it’s not written to be a textbook (although it would be helpful in a fashion law course).  It is the most comprehensive guide to fashion law that has been published so far, with 847 pages (more than twice the pages of the next longest text on fashion law), and accurately captures both the large and small issues of the subject.

Other in-depth examinations of fashion law feature chapters written by different scholars and practitioners on various topics; this leads to some redundancy as similar ideas are reiterated in different contexts.  Fashion Law and Business benefits from a unified tone thanks to the treatment of each topic by the same two authors.  The finding aids are excellent, including a detailed table of contents, a 36-page index, and a table of authorities allowing the reader to focus on specific cases or statutes.  Cases are not reprinted but are discussed in some detail, and the authors wisely chose to incorporate not only overtly fashion law-oriented cases but also cases that do not involve fashion but are critical to understanding a given topic in fashion law; for example, the grey market is a major issue in fashion law, but a basic understanding of the grey market would be incomplete without John Wiley & Sons v. Kirtsaeng.  Fashion Law and Business includes an explanation of that case alongside more clearly fashion-oriented cases like Abercrombie & Fitch v. Fashion Shops of Kentucky.

If I have one quibble with Fashion Law and Business, it’s that references are grouped at the end of each chapter as endnotes, instead of in footnotes on the relevant pages; flipping back and forth is a little bit bothersome for someone accustomed to the reference style of law reviews and journals.  But this is a minor issue, and the benefits of this text far outweigh that small irritation.  It’s also a comparatively good bargain—other fashion law texts are published in paperback and cost upwards of $80; at about $145 (prices via Amazon.com), this hardcover text delivers more content and promises to be more physically resilient.

I’ve followed the recent publication of fashion law books with great interest, and this is the first one I felt I could unreservedly recommend for the libraries of both law schools and law firms.  It is thorough, well-written, and may help your library’s patrons see that “fashion law” means something more than “leggings aren’t pants!”
Andrea Alexander is a reference librarian and assistant professor at Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law’s Taggart Law Library.  She never wears leggings as pants.

2014 Books Catalog

2014 Books Catalog

 

The 2014 PLI Books Catalog is now available.  View it online here.  If you would like a print copy mailed to you, please email us at libraryrelations@pli.edu.

New additions to the catalog include:

New Edition of Manning on Estate Planning Published in December 2013

In December 2013, PLI published a new seventh edition of Manning on Estate Planning.

Manning on Estate Planning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are on standing order for this title or have a Standing Order Plan with PLI, this title has already been shipped to you. If you would like to place an order, please email PLI Library Relations or call 877-900-5291