A review of efforts by U.S. trading partners to protect and enforce intellectual property around the world was published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on May 1, 2013. The Special 301 Report is an annual review required by law. Highlights of the report include: continued deterioration in IPR protection, enforcement, and market access for persons relying on IPR in Ukraine the growing problem of misappropriation of trade secrets in China and elsewhere troubling “indigenous innovation” policies that may unfairly disadvantage U.S. rights holders in China the continuing challenges of copyright piracy over the Internet in countries such as Brazil, Italy, and Russia U.S. based companies entering into contracts and doing business internationally need to develop effective strategies for dealing with IP-related… Read the full article →
Larry Hagman, the former Dallas TV star who recently passed away, has posthumously received good news from the 2nd District Court of Appeal in California. The court affirmed a trial decision in favor of Hagman’s trust quieting title to a piece of land that Hagman inadvertently fenced and later improved. The property at issue is less than half an acre adjacent to a 30 acre parcel that Hagman owned in Ojai. What makes the case even more interesting is noted in the opening paragraph of the court’s opinion: The unusual twist is that the neighboring land on which the adverse possession took place belongs to a nonprofit religious organization. Because of its status as a public benefit corporation, the religious organization argued that it qualified… Read the full article →
What city has the worst traffic in the United States? That’s right, the City of Angels. But there’s nothing heavenly about this title. What cities place and show in this dubious horse race? Honolulu and San Francisco. The Hawaiian capitol claimed the top prize in 2011 but was overtaken by Los Angeles last year. Another California city, San Jose, ranked seventh. A few interesting (or depressing) facts about traffic in Los Angeles from data company Inrix which compiled the list, as reported by the Los Angeles Times: The average driver in Los Angeles spent 59 hours sitting in traffic in 2012 35 of the 162 most congested sections of highway in the U.S. are in Los Angeles Four LA freeways are in the top 10… Read the full article →
The question faced by California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal in Gonzalez v. Downtown LA Motors (March 6, 2013, published April 2, 2013) was stated succinctly by the court as follows: whether California’s minimum wage law requires an employer that compensates its automotive service technicians on a ‘piece-rate’ basis for repair work must also pay those technicians a separate hourly minimum wage for time spent during their work shifts waiting for vehicles to repair or performing other non-repair tasks directed by the employer. The employer argued it was not responsible for doing so because the total compensation paid to its technicians never fell below the minimum wage required for all hours worked, including waiting time. This was accomplished by supplementing pay, if necessary, to cover… Read the full article →
Home prices in California and Los Angeles keep on rising, a sign that the rebound continues from the housing decline of recent years. Prices rose 8.3% statewide in March, compared to February, and 24.7% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, Los Angeles area homebuyers paid a median price of $345,500 in March, an 8% increase from February. The median price rose 23.4% as compared to March 2012. The latest numbers from DataQuick confirm fears by some of another housing bubble. But according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, “many real estate experts believe that the price increases will slow and that the market remains on solid footing.” Foreclosed properties continue to represent a significant portion of the home sales market, though the number of… Read the full article →
