...manufactured the clothes, it copied sixteen of Samara's garments with some small modifications to produce the line of clothes required under its contract with Wal-Mart. After discovering that Wal-Mart and other retailers were selling the so-called knockoffs, Samara brought an action for infringement of unregistered trade dress under section 43(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946. The jury found for Samara and awarded the company more than $1 million in damages. Wal-Mart then renewed a motion for judgment as a matter of law, claiming that there was insufficient evidence to support a conclusion that Samara's clothing designs could be legally protected as distinctive trade dress for purposes of section 43(a). The District Court denied the motion and awarded Samara relief. The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the motion and concluded that "copyrights depicting familiar objects, such as the hearts, daisies, and strawberries in Samara's copyrights are entitled to very narrow protection. It is only the virtually identical copying...which will result in a successful claim of infringement of familiar objects." 2-)Rule of Law/Rationale The legal framework used to analyze whether design features--also referred to as trade dress--are entitled to trademark protection can be summarized as follows: First, as a threshold matter, it must be determined whether the claimed trade dress is functional. If so, the trade dress cannot be registered or protected as a trademark. In general terms, a feature...
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...Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Justice System Crime Analysis State of Hawaii Fiscal Year 2009-2011 Arrests: Status offenses have consistently remained the highest offense type in arrest for all three years for all four countries. Status offenses for all three years for the State as well as the individual circuits made up for more than 40 to over 50% of all arrests. Detentions: Detention rates were highest in 2009 and showed a marked decrease of the three years. The age groups that were the highest across the three years were either 16 or 17 in detention with males accounting for the larger percentage of the population in detention. Probation: The probation rates declined over the three-year period. Hawaii circuit showed the highest probation rates while Honolulu showed the lowest for all three years. Following the statewide trend for all three years, Honolulu, Maui, and Hawaii circuits showed status offenses as the highest, and property offenses as second largest in probation. Gender Race and Ethnicity: At all points in the system males had the largest percentage in all phases. While gender differences were noticed in all phases of the system. Older are groups, generally age 16 and 17, also have the highest rates in the system for juveniles, beginning with arrests and establishing a trend that is consistent along decision points. Ethnically, Native Hawaiians, Blacks, Mixed Pacific Islanders, and Samoans are generally overrepresented in the system at each decision point...
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...Who’s Left Standing for State Sovereignty?: Private Party Standing to Raise Tenth Amendment Claims By: Katherine Connolly Section 1: The most critical topic raised in Who’s Left Standing for State Sovereignty?: Private Party Standing to Raise Tenth Amendment Claims by Katherine Connolly is the Supreme Court and State courts oscillating view of the Tenth Amendment, the contradictory views between circuit court of appeals on the Amendment, and an analysis of private party Tenth Amendment standing. “In the decades since its adoption, American courts have vigorously debated the substantive meaning of this Amendment.” (Connolly 1540) Many of the circuit court of appeals have had a difficult time coming to an agreement on the underlying meaning of the Amendment. “Six circuit courts of appeals now hold the increasingly popular majority position that only states and not private parties may enforce the Tenth Amendment. Two circuit courts of appeals hold the once-majority position that private party standing to assert claims under the Tenth Amendment is permissible.” (Connolly 1541) The article was taken from the Boston College Law Review. Katherine Connolly, the author of the note, has her opinions on the topic of the Tenth Amendment and knows the history of it because she is a third year student at Boston College Law School and the senior editor of the Law Review. Section 2: The author did not make any vague, ambiguous or unsupported statements in...
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...Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White Legal Analysis Legal and Ethical Facts • The plaintiff (White) was hired by Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. (Defendant) as a track laborer. Having prior experience as a forklift operator, the plaintiff was assigned to operate a forklift once the need arose. • Although operating a forklift was now the primary duty of the plaintiff, her responsibilities as a track laborer, to a lessor extent, still existed. • Operating a forklift was viewed as a more prestigious position and as such, a more desirable duty than the dirtier work of track laborer. • Shortly after assuming her primary duty as forklift operator, the plaintiff’s immediate supervisor made disparaging remarks about her in front of co-workers. The comments centered on the supervisor’s opinion regarding the inappropriateness of having females on the job site. • The plaintiff filed an internal complaint with Burlington Northern. After an investigation, the plaintiff’s supervisor was suspended for 10 days. • When the plaintiff was notified of the supervisor’s suspension, she was also informed that she would no longer be operating a forklift and would resume the duties of track laborer full time. • Within weeks, the plaintiff filed a grievance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She believed her reassignment was a form of retaliation for making complaints that led to the suspension of a supervisor. • A short time after these...
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...Legal Environment of Business Abstract This paper is a brief introduction and discussion about a Supreme Court case- Greentree Corp. Ala. v. Randolph, which focuses on Contract Law and some concepts of arbitration. There are also some personal analysis and view about the case. Finally, some inspirations will be listed as impressions and for further discussion. Finally, a brief conclusion will be summarized at the end of the paper. The paper aims at restoring the reality of the case. Citations from the original sources have been listed in the sentences and at the end of the paper. In consideration of author’s limited knowledge and information sources, there will be inevitable mistakes and errors in the paper, all the criticisms corrected are welcomed by the readers. Content Introduction Background: Among the liberties secured by the Constitution is the right to have suits at common law decided by a jury (U.S. CONST. amend. VII) .The enactment of the Federal Arbitration Act 2 (FAA) in 1925 produced a critical qualification to this right, allowing commercial entities to agree to resolve a contractual dispute through binding arbitration agreements(9 U.S.C. § 2 (2000)). In Green Tree Financial Corp.-Alabama v. Randolph, the Supreme Court announced that, for consumers, the right to a trial by jury had been further qualified. Even the costs of arbitration are potentially...
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...1. This Court should adopt the balanced, fact-based approach laid out by the First and Second Circuits. This Court should adopt the First and Second Circuit’s approach because this approach follows this Court’s precedent and accurately assesses motive and opportunity. The Second Circuit has developed a balanced approach to establishing whether or not similar motive is present in a case. See United States v. DiNapoli, 8 F.3d 909, 914 (2d Cir. 1993). The Second Circuit held that the inquiry as to similar motive must be fact specific. Id. at 914. This requirement stems from the Second Circuit’s deference to this Court’s opinion in Salerno, where this Court expressed a reluctance to recognize any general exception onto Rule 804(b)(1). Id....
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...Chapter C:1 Tax Research Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Distinguish between closed fact and open fact tax situations. 2. Describe the steps in the tax research process. 3. Explain how the facts influence tax consequences. 4. Identify the sources of tax law and assess the authoritative value of each. 5. Consult tax services to research an issue. 6. Apply the basics of Internet-based tax research. 7. Use the citator to assess authorities. 8. Describe professional guidelines that CPAs in tax practice should follow. 9. Prepare work papers and communicate to clients. Areas of Greater Significance Since this will usually be a student’s first exposure to tax research, the importance of the facts to the tax results, federal tax services and the citator should be discussed. The widespread use of Internet-based databases for tax research makes this means of tax research much more important. An effort should be made to introduce Internet-based searches to the students if at all possible. The text discusses two types of professional guidelines for CPAs in tax practice. Areas of Lesser Significance In the interest of time, the following areas may be omitted: Sample work papers and client letter (Appendix A). Problem Areas for Students The following areas may prove especially difficult to students: ...
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...Introduction: In this case study we will be taking a close look at the United States legal system and how it became what it is today. Research issue or case/code chosen: Where did our legal system originate from? Discuss the development of the court system; Special Federal Courts, Federal District Courts, Federal Courts of Appeal, United States Supreme Courts, State Courts, Inferior Courts, Courts of Original General Jurisdiction, and Appellate Courts. Explain when each court system was developed, why it was developed, and what each specified section of the court system does. Analysis: Our legal system was installed by the European colonists when they settled in this country. Our legal system based off that of England, France and Spain and ended up closely mimicking that of the England because, the first 13 colonies were primarily English. In the United states we have two main kinds of courts with sub courts within them. We have the Federal Court System and we have the State Court System. The Federal Court System is made up of four different courts; the Special Federal Courts, Federal District Courts, Federal Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. The Special Federal Courts are limited in its jurisdiction or specialty. Examples of this type of court would be Bankruptcy Court and US Tax Court. Bankruptcy Courts are only concerned with the administration of bankruptcy hearings and US Tax Courts are only concerned hearings involving deficiencies...
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...and analyze two courts’ decisions about whether an indirect U.K. subsidiary’s windfall tax (a foreign tax type) is creditable on a U.S. based corporation-Phillips Petroleum’s income taxes. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit holds that windfall tax is not creditable. In Treasury Department’s regulation, it shows that a foreign assessment has a tax “character” if it is “likely to reach net gain in the normal circumstances in which it applies.” Id. § 1.901-2(a)(3)(i). Id. § 1.901-2(b)(1) demonstrates that “net gain” issue is judged on the basis of its predominant character and make sure to satisfy each of three requirements: the “realization” requirement, the “gross receipts” requirement, and the “net income” requirement. The Court of Appeals then analyzes this type of foreign tax based on each of requirements step by step. When analyzing the tax base, the major problem arises. PPL purports that its initial-period profit would satisfy the gross receipts and net income requirements. However, the tax base cannot be initial-period profit alone unless people can rewrite the tax rate, which is impossible except Treasury Department. In the simplified calculation of the indirect subsidiary’s tax, the tax base is roughly 2.25 times profit. PPL wants to use 2.25 multiplied by 23% to make tax rate 51.75% mathematically. Nevertheless, the regulation forbids the outcome of using this method to change tax rate. Overall, the United States Court of Appeals holds...
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... In Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Echazabal, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split by determining that the ADA recognizes a harm-to-self defense and upheld the EEOC’s regulation. In Echazabal, Mario Echazabal could only obtain a job at Chevron’s oil refinery after passing a physical examination. The exam showed liver damage as a result of Hepatitis C, which would be worsened if he worked at the refinery where he would be exposed to toxins and harmful chemicals. After Chevron denied Echazabal a job, Echazabal sued Chevron alleging it violated the ADA on the basis of his disability, his liver condition. Chevron, relying on the EEOC’s regulation, alleged that allowing Echazabal to work would pose a direct threat to his own health. Deferring to the EEOC’s regulation, the Supreme Court expanded the direct threat standard to also include harm to the individual noting that it reasonably falls within the general “job related” and...
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...Facts On the 22nd of February, 1980, the Supreme Court of Illinois filed their opinion in the case number 50745. In this case, Robert E. Woodill et al. – the appellants – had sued Parke Davis & CO. et al. – the appellees – citing a drug that the company had produced as responsible for injuries sustained by Eric Woodill during delivery. For that matter, the plaintiffs were acting on behalf of Eric – a minor – in which case they were seeking restitution for the injuries. In reference to that, the plaintiffs argued that the defendant had breached their warranty since the drug caused injury rather than enhanced life. In addition, the plaintiffs were seeking recompense for the mental anguish and distress they had suffered in relation to the injuries. In reference to that, the case was presented with three counts: Count I involved recompense for the injuries sustained by Eric; Count II was seeking recompense for the mental anguish and distress suffered by the appellants; and Count III was seeking restitution for the breach of warranty since the drug was presented as beneficial yet it was injurious. Procedural History The case was first presented to the Circuit Court of Cook County. In this case, the...
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...The Legal System and ADR Analysis One aspect our company utilizes to expand is purchasing smaller lucrative expanding companies. As we proceed with these procurement actions we must ensure we act in good faith, if not we may find ourselves in a similar situation as USA Truck and Knight Transportation are currently besieged in. USA Truck Inc. of Van Buren, Arkansas filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Knight Transportation Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona, because Knight Transportation is attempting to buy out USA Truck. The lawsuit, filed in Crawford County Circuit Court, alleged Knight unacceptably utilized USA Truck's proprietary company information to facilitate a hostile procurement of USA Truck for an unreasonable amount, which does not reflect the Company's real value. The lawsuit requests Knight to divest the USA Truck shares they currently have, which USA Truck accuses Knight obtained by violating the confidentiality agreement the two companies agreed to. Knight increased its ownership in USA Truck from 8% to 12% after the company publically announced it was trying to take it over. USA Truck's Board of Directors is very disenchanted with the way Knight Transportation acted when they promised they would not do what they are being accused of doing, which was utilize confidential information expressed to them via friendly private discussions regarding an agreed upon transaction between the companies. When USA Truck’s Board of Directors refused to agree to the terms Knight...
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...The Non-Obvious Problem: How the Indeterminate Nonobviousness Standard Produces Excessive Patent Grants Gregory Mandel∗ The dominant current perception in patent law is that the core requirement of nonobviousness is applied too leniently, resulting in a proliferation of patents on trivial inventions that actually retard technological innovation in the long run. This Article reveals that the common wisdom is only half correct. The nonobviousness standard is not too low, but both too high and too low. It is indeterminate. Three principal factors produce nonobviousness indeterminacy: a failure to identify the quantum of innovation necessary to satisfy the standard, a failure to define the baseline level of ordinary skill against which to measure an innovation, and the epistemic infeasibility of requiring a technologically lay decision maker to judge from the perspective of a more highly trained and educated person of ordinary skill in the art. This Article introduces a mathematical model of innovation and patenting to analyze the effects of nonobviousness indeterminacy. Based on the model, indeterminacy in nonobviousness decisions has several unexpected consequences. First, indeterminacy results in an excessive total number of patent grants, and in many patent grants on obvious inventions. Second, indeterminacy leads to too many patent applications on obvious inventions and too few applications on non-obvious inventions. ∗ Professor of Law, Temple University — Beasley School of...
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...Case Analysis CLARK v. MISSOURI, KANSAS & TEXAS RAILWAY COMPANY, Appellant. SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI, DIVISION ONE 179 Mo. 66; 77 S.W. 882; 1903 Mo. LEXIS 394 1. Provide a summary of the undisputed facts. On May 10, 1897, a train wrecked on Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad near Marthasville, Missouri. This train transported live animals. A conductor of the train informed a railroad track foreman that there was an accident and some steers were loose in the area and they needed to be recovered. This section of the railroad was serviced by a crew that included a track foreman Otto Housman (the defendant) and three trackmen – Housman’s two sons named Jim and George Housman, and Pleasant W. Clark (the plantiff). Mr. Clark was a section hand who worked for the railroad for the past four years. Part of his duties as a section hand were to clean up and take care of live animals transported by the railroad and to clean up around the tracks whenever there was a mess. On the night of the accident Mr. Clark was called to come help retrieve some cattle that got loose. Along with two other men (sons of the foreman) they brought all the cattle, except one Texas steer, and drove them into a pen. However, they were ordered to find and return the last steer, and then Mr. Clark and the foreman’s sons went to look for the steer. They found the steer about two hundred yards from the track. Mr. Clark noticed that an animal acted wild. Jim Housman saw that the animal...
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...Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the Prop 8 case, I'll take this opportunity to use my platform for the usual buzzkill for a while, since a stay of this decision is in place until at least the end of this month, meaning justice delayed is justice denied. No surprise should exist that despite the well-written and narrowly approached opinion by the majority in today's Prop 8 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith wrote a weak and ridiculous dissent that provides some preview of what may happen should this case reach the United States Supreme Court. Smith is an appointee of George W. Bush and a 1977 graduate of Brigham Young University's (BYU's) J. Reuben Clark Law School. And Smith seemed to be following the lead of a current BYU law professor, Lynn Wardle, who not only teaches at Smith's alma mater but whose name also appears in the "Counsel Listing" on the Prop 8 case in his capacity with the anti-gay Marriage Law Project at BYU's law school. Professor Wardle is notorious for anti-gay rhetoric that includes comparing gay people with rapists, child molesters, and drunk drivers. Meanwhile, earlier this week, the CEO of the largest affiliated controlling shareholder of my law school made a video supporting equal marriage rights. Following Professor Wardle's lead at his alma mater, Judge Smith gratuitously quoted Antonin Scalia's dissent in Lawrence v. Texas (in other words, Scalia's losing position in that case), the case that...
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