Happy National Library Week from PLI!

Greetings from our weekly department meeting.

It’s our favorite time of the year—National Library Week! We use this week to celebrate libraries and the people who work in them. As the team of librarians behind PLI PLUS, we are enormously proud to be apart of this innovative profession and grateful to get to interact regularly with our brilliant and dedicated counterparts at law firms, law schools, courts, and other organizations.

New Edition! Product Liability Litigation

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the second edition of Product Liability Litigation: Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices.

This comprehensive treatise provides legal, technical, and strategic knowledge that can help maximize an attorney’s ability to prevail in consumer product liability cases. It covers trends in product claims and defenses, strategies for managing and resolving product litigation, and particular issues and tactics that can arise in different types of product cases. Chapters are written by lawyers who represent both plaintiff and defense perspectives.

The new edition is substantially revised and reorganized. In addition to fully updating chapters from the first edition on traditional areas of product liability litigation, the authors have added new content on cutting-edge product claims arising from the use of autonomous vehicles, vaping devices, cannabis products, blockchain technology and smart technology. There is also a new chapter on suing foreign defendants in the United States.

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!

Treatise Update – Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting

Faber on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting (Seventh Edition) spotlights proven claim drafting practices and techniques that have been firmly established by patent authorities and custom. This lucid, time-saving handbook offers readers start-to-finish directions for every type of claim, numerous tips on how to avoid common mistakes, definitions and preferred usage of stylized words and phrases in patent law, and more.

The latest release updates and expands this treatise with practical information and commentary on a variety of topics, including:

  • Software Inventions: New discussion of the Federal Circuit’s decisions in Tenstreet LLC v. DriverReach LLC, Uniloc USA, Inc. v. LG Electronics USA, Inc., Customedia Technologies, LLC v. Dish Network Corp., Ubisoft Entertainment, S.A. v. Oy, and Dropbox v. Synchronoss. See § 1:4.2[A].
  • Laws of Nature: New analysis of Illumina, Inc. v. Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc., a method of preparation case in which the Federal Circuit found a procedure that exploits natural phenomenon to be patent-eligible. See §§ 1:4.4 and 1:4.6.
  • Methods of Treatment: New commentary on CardioNet v. Infobionic in which the Federal Circuit has shown that diagnosis techniques involving improved devices or laboratory techniques may be patent-eligible. See § 1:4.6[A].
  • Preamble: New discussion of Shoes by Firebug LLC v. Stride Rite Children’s Group, LLC in which the Federal Circuit concluded that the “textile” preamble was not limiting because the body of the claim was a structurally complete invention without the preamble but that, in another patent, the preamble was limiting because the body of the claim recited footwear and cited the preamble for an antecedent basis for footwear. Also discussed is Bio-Rad Labs, Inc. v. 10X Genomics Inc. in which the Federal Circuit held that the preamble may not be divided into separate portions but must be read together as a whole. See § 2:4.
  • “Consisting essentially of”: New analysis of PPG Industries v. Guardian Industries Corp. in which the Federal Circuit said that, despite its indefiniteness, “consisting essentially of” has a definite meaning when used in the description of a composition that includes listed ingredients that follow the phrase. See § 2:6.
  • Order of Elements: A new section discusses challenging an obviousness rejection premised on the Burhans rule when the prior art does not teach of limitation of the claimed process. See § 3:21.
  • Use of “Means for” or “Step for”: New discussion of Fiber LLC v. Ciena Corp. and whether the definiteness requirement of section 112(f) is satisfied when a means-plus-function structure is incorporated by reference. See § 3:29.2.

Order a print copy today. PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update – Circular 230 Deskbook

The Circular 230 Deskbook is an essential compliance resource for every tax professional who practices before the IRS, helping practitioners comply with complex Circular 230 amendments more easily — and avoid costly penalties and sanctions. This treatise was recently updated to include analysis of the latest developments in tax and estate law relating to IRS Circular 230 including the following:

  • Discussion of conflicting 2020 decisions on whether a penalty under section 6707A is void if the IRS notice designating the transaction as a listed one is issued without notice and comment in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (Michigan) or if that argument can only be pursued in a refund action (Arizona) (See Chapter 1 and Chapter 3).
  • Examination of the difference between the “substantial authority” (having a 40% chance of success on the merits) and “reasonable basis” (where a taxpayer cannot be found negligent if its tax position has a 20% chance of success on the merits) standards under section 6694 (See Chapter 4).

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

New Title! Master the Proxy Statement

PLI Press is pleased to announce the publication of Master the Proxy Statement.

This standalone handbook  is a step-by-step guide to preparing proxy solicitation materials in compliance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Regulation 14A, Schedule 14A, and all applicable federal securities laws and regulations. Like its counterparts Master the 8-K and Master the 10-K and 10-Q, this thorough book draws on the expertise of author Gary M. Brown to deliver clear explanations, detailed guidance and essential practice tips.

Order a print copy today. PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Other PLI Press Treatises by Gary M. Brown:

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 February!

New Title! Schwartz on Section 1983

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new treatise Schwartz on Section 1983: Law and Commentary.

Professor Emeritus of Law Martin A. Schwartz, one of the nation’s leading experts on Section 1983 litigation, examines the essential aspects of Section 1983 law. His treatise is carefully organized to follow the progression of Section 1983 litigation. Comprehensive and incisive discussions provide practitioners with the guidance they need to successfully deal with all aspects of litigation. Throughout the chapters, Schwartz provides invaluable “Practical Commentary” in which he shares personal observations from over 50 years of litigating, consulting, teaching, and writing about the law of Section 1983, as well as advice through each step of litigation, including in:

  • Determining whether to assert a claim in federal or in state court
  • Determining whether to name an official in her personal or official capacity, or in both capacities
  • Evaluating false arrest, malicious prosecution, and other related claims
  • Understanding the standard of judicial review governing the plaintiff’s equal protection claim and the litigation significance of that standard
  • Evaluating whether a claim has factual or legal basis or a realistic chance of success to name a municipal entity as a defendant
  • Understanding the separate issues of supervisory liability and municipal liability
  • Understanding the various abstention doctrines that provide defendants’ attorneys with a wide array of potential defenses that can lead to dismissal of a federal court action and a stay of federal court proceedings
  • Understanding the law governing remedies

Providing essential insight into the complex statue and accompanying case law, this is an indispensable resource for practitioners.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.