Save the Date: PLI’s Lunch & Learn @ AALL Chicago

Are you attending the 2024 AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Chicago this summer? Join us for a luncheon to celebrate librarians and learn about what’s new at PLI and recent enhancements to PLI PLUS.

The luncheon will take place on Sunday, July 21 from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m.

Email us at libraryrelations@pli.edu to RSVP if you will attend, and we will include location details in your confirmation email. 

Treatise Update: Patent Claim Construction and Markman Hearings

Patent Claim Construction and Markman Hearings provides an in-depth guidance to patent claims, walking the reader through the entire process of preparing for, conducting, and appealing a Markman hearing. This book includes an entire chapter on the local court claim construction rules of the various district courts that have adopted them.

This treatise helps readers understand how courts decide “what a person of ordinary skill in the field of the patent invention would understand the language of the claim to mean”, the impact of prior constructions on a new hearing, how to decide what claims or claim elements should be construed by the court, what constitutes intrinsic and extrinsic evidence in interpreting the claim, at what point in the overall patent proceeding a construction hearing should be held, and what are the rules that will be used when a contested construction is an issue in an appeal to the Federal Circuit.

The latest release includes:

  • Federal Circuit cases summarizing how claim construction should be determined based on several post-Markman cases (see Chapter 1)
  • Coverage of Salazar v. AT&T Mobility LLC, a Federal Circuit case questioning whether “a” meant “at least one” in a patent claim that recited “a microprocessor” that performed one function and then referred to “said microprocessor” that performed several functions (See Chapter 2).
  • Discussions of Sequoia Technology, LLC v. Dell, Inc., in which the Federal Circuit explained that disclosures in other patents do not necessarily reflect what a person of ordinary skill would know or understand because such disclosures might be the patentee’s exercise in lexicography (See Chapter 6)
  • Appendix C now includes the 2024 AIPLA Model Patent Jury Instructions.

The Table of Authorities has also been updated.

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PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update: Sack on Defamation: Libel, Slander, and Related Problems (5th Edition)

Sack on Defamation: Libel, Slander, and Related Problems offers strategic guidance for plaintiffs and defense attorneys and fully covers the basic elements of a defamation claim, including the types and amounts of damages that can be awarded, the treatment of libel per se and slander per se, the invasion of privacy torts, the causes of action for injurious falsehood, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent misstatement, and the issues of jurisdiction and motion practice. Written by a U.S. Court of Appeals judge and updated by a constitutional law scholar from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, this treatise pinpoints practical legal issues vital to your clients, helping you understand when “truth” is not a defense.

The latest release includes updates on:

  • Chapter 2 on how to determine whether certain communications are defamatory covers a case involving political talk radio in which a politician was described as having “started a new political party” and a case from Texas involving an abortion opponent’s depiction of abortion advocacy groups as “criminal organizations.”
  • Chapter 4 discusses a case in which the New Hampshire Supreme Court interpreted New Hampshire law to protect a defendant who had couched his defamatory statement as speculation, thus providing more protection for opinion than Milkovich.
  • Chapter 5 covers a case in which the South Carolina Supreme Court held that a high school football coach, who was a public employee, was neither a public figure nor a public official and a New York case finding that a DJ was a limited-purpose public figure because he had purposefully and continuously publicized and promoted his business relationships with famous artists to attract publicity and business for himself and his record label.
  • Chapter 7  examines how hyperlinking, reposting, and retweeting is expanded with the discussion of cases from state and federal courts in New York, New Hampshire, Florida, California, and Ohio.
  • Chapter 10 discusses judicial review of damages awards takes note that plaintiffs may opt to prove “actual malice” to recover presumed damages without the need to prove actual damages.

The Table of Cases and the Defendant-Plaintiff Table have also 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/Practice Guides, Course Handbooks, Answer Books, Transcripts, and Forms to reflect recent changes and developments in the law.

Click here to see what we added in May 2024! 

Treatise Update: Langer on Practical International Tax Planning (5th Edition)

Langer on Practical International Tax Planning provides current knowledge and expert advice attorneys need to help clients capitalize on ripe tax havens and financial centers. The book provides up-to-date information on the legal, tax, business, financial, social, political, technological, geographical, and regional factors to consider when developing and implementing customized planning strategies for clients. Packed with case studies, the book guides readers on how to select the right territories for each client, deploy the right instruments within each territory to eliminate, reduce, or defer taxes, avoid planning missteps that trigger tax problems, use local contacts to open doors to tax havens, and respond effectively to changing tax planning situations in specific havens and financial centers.

The latest release includes updates on:

  • Chapter 2 discusses the Tax Court holding that a partnership was engaged in the conduct of a U.S. trade or business based on the activities of its asset manager, and was also a “dealer in securities” subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules of section 475.
  • Chapter 5 talks about a case in which the Tax Court noted that the scope of section 904(f)(3) allows taxpayers to offset U.S. tax liability with a foreign tax credit, but does not cap the taxpayer’s gain to the amount of corresponding loss.
  • Chapter 18 explains an IRS legal memorandum concluding that restricted stock units compensating an employee for work performed for both a U.S. employer and its controlled foreign corporation are wages subject to federal income tax withholding, but only grants for work performed in the United States will be subject to FICA.
  • Chapter 26 examines what it means to “willfully” (or “non-willfully”) file a false income tax return or fail to report foreign bank accounts.

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. In an effort to highlight this unique content type, we’ve selected one form per month and made it available for anyone to download for free – no subscription required.

May’s free form:

Template Clawback Policy

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: Securities Law and Practice Deskbook (Sixth Edition)

Securities Law and Practice Deskbook is a thorough guide to the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), relevant rules and regulations, and key case law. This book serves as an introduction to U.S. federal securities laws, providing a base for how securities lawyers tackle issues. It also acts as a general review and a first resource for seasoned practitioners when dealing with unfamiliar aspects of securities law.

Updated twice a year to keep pace with frequently changing rules and regulations, the latest release includes updates on:

  • Chapter 1 includes upcoming Supreme Court rulings on the constitutionality of the SEC’s in-house judges and whether to overrule the Chevron doctrine.
  • Chapter 6 discusses new disclosure rules relating to SPAC IPOs and “de-SPAC” transactions and how they could lead to a further decline in the PIPE market.
  • Chapter 8 includes new SPAC rules imposing new disclosure requirements.
  • Chapter 9 discusses whether failure to makes a disclosure required in MD&A can support a private claim under section 10(b) and rule 10b-5 in the absence of an otherwise misleading statement. It also mentions the Fifth Circuit’s ruling vacating significant new rules that would have required quarterly disclosures and qualitative information regarding share repurchases.
  • Chapter 12 includes new SPAC rules stating that the Commission negates the ability of companies to use the PSLRA’s “safe harbor” for “forwardlooking” statements in SPAC IPOs and “de-SPAC” transactions.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update: Private Equity Funds: Formation and Operation

Private Equity Funds: Formation and Operation examines the various fund types, including PIPEs, SPACs, mezzanine funds, and credit opportunity funds, and is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how private equity funds work and are regulated.

Written by expert private equity fund specialists from Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, this book provides guidance on major decisions when creating a new fund, such as choosing the right organizational options for funds and their sponsors, structuring and implementing ownership and compensation arrangements that work best for each fund, negotiating terms between fund sponsors and investors, hiring and retaining the best fund talent, and qualifying for the Securities Act’s private placement exemption, the IAA’s exclusion from registration as an investment adviser, and other exemptive relief.

The new release includes updates to the following chapters:

  • Chapter 1 includes new coverage of growth capital funds and credit dislocation funds.
  • Chapter 7 updates discussion of the job application and includes Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).
  • Chapter 12 includes updated discussions of the May 3, 2023, SEC amendments to Form PF requiring current reporting upon the occurrence of key events and also discusses the Private Fund Advisers Rule, which includes new rules and amendments to the Advisers Act applicable to private fund advisers.
  • Chapter 13 discusses the new rules, 3a5‑4 and 3a44‑2, under the Exchange Act to further define what it means to be “engaged in the business” of buying and selling securities for one’s own account.
  • Chapter 17 is a brand-new chapter that examines the class of credit extended by institutions to alternative asset managers to capitalize their funds.

The Index has also been updated for this release.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.