Top Intellectual Property Disputes Part 3

June 19th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

online cleIntroducing the final installment of our series spotlighting some of the most notorious intellectual property disputes – the six-year-long trademark dispute between Adidas and Payless ShoeSource.

Back in 2001, mammoth sportswear brand Adidas alleged that Payless was offering a style of shoe which featured its Three Stripes trademark. Adidas claimed Payless’ intention was to deceive, confuse and mislead prospective buyers and buyers into believing that their shoes were in some way associated with Adidas and its trademark.

Following investigation, the jury found a total of 267 different styles and colors of Payless shoes could be likened to Adidas’ trademarks. Additionally, it was ruled that Adidas’ trademark was both very well known and non-functional, meaning its appropriation by another company caused irreparable damage to the brand’s reputation as a quality manufacturer.

In 2008, Adidas AG’s U.S. subsidiary was awarded $30.6 million in actual damages, $137 million in punitive damages, and $137 million in Payless profits, amounting to a total of $304.6 million dollars.

For more on some of the most important intellectual property cases of recent years, check out disputes previously featured in this series (including Dan Brown vs. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, and Bratz vs. Barbie) and sign up for one of our IP law NY continuing legal education courses.

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Top Intellectual Property Disputes Part 1

June 5th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

NY continuing legal educationAs many of you will know, intellectual property law is one of the hottest territories in the legal profession right now. In today’s blog post, we’re highlighting the first in our series of the most noteworthy IP disputes in recent years, from the world of fiction to fashionable dolls.

The Da Vinci Code Case

Authors of the non-fiction book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh claimed author of best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, infringed on the copyright of their publication. Interestingly, the case was based on “non-literal” copying, since Brown didn’t directly copy text from Baigent and Leigh’s book. Rather the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail alleged it was the “manner” in which Brown told his story which was plagiarized.

Ultimately, the claimants’ case was dismissed in 2006, when it was ruled that there was neither textual, nor non-textual copying.

Interested in keeping up with the latest developments in IP law? Sign up for one of our IP-focused New York CLE courses, or learn more via online CLE. Check back next week for the next installment in the most famous IP disputes.

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Unpaid Internships, Helping or Hurting?

May 29th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

new york cleUnpaid internships have been a hot topic of discussion over the past few years. Often seen as a good way to gain experience with large and well-established companies, organizations and firms, unpaid internships have become a debated topic. While unpaid internships do provide possibilities of attaining future employment or college credit, the unpaid or unrewarded internship model is not always seen as fair or legal.

In the legal world, law students have taken unpaid internships to work on pro bono cases. This provides a larger labor pool for firms and organizations that work with pro bono cases and offers students a chance to work with these types of cases in a real-life setting.

According to this article, the American Bar Association President Laurel Bellows recently urged the US Department of Labor to clear up uncertainties around unpaid internships and pro bono case work under the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Like NY continuing legal education courses and online CLE, these internships provide valuable learning experiences that could help develop law students and lawyers. At the same time, these internship opportunities may not be allowed under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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No C’s Please, We’re Law Students

May 29th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

new york cleWhen it comes to grades, especially those earned in law school, your opinion of yourself, your work ethic, and your mental performance can be greatly influenced by whether you receive an A, a B, or a C.

Indeed, one law school professor believes a student’s receiving a C could lead to a student being injured psychologically since many students perceive C’s as signs of outright failure. Professor Joshua Silverstein of the University of Arkansas argues that not only are C’s potentially harmful, C’s are also awarded inconsistently from institution to institution.

This particular opinion piece from Above the Law claims such an argument is simply dignifying complaints from students that legal education institutions are grading harshly or somehow unfairly, where there is, supposedly, little backbone to such claims.

What’s your opinion on this topic? Does handing out C’s put students at a risk of suffering from low self-esteem or negative self-criticism? Or, on the other hand, should law schools continue to grade students’ papers, using C’s where appropriate, in order to teach students a lesson or two about the many harsh realities of the highly competitive world of legal professionals?

If you can’t make up your mind maybe some refresher NY continuing legal education courses, or even online CLE courses, could help in sharpening your judgment skills!

 

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Best Practice Tips for Lawyers

May 22nd, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

New York CLEAs lawyers, we represent one of the integral pillars of society. Playing such an important role in the upholding of our social fabric means always appearing and being professional. Here are some best practice tips for lawyers intent on being the best that they can be:

Set your cell phone to vibrate: If you have a cell phone on you during client meetings, then always remember to set it to vibrate so that your ringtone doesn’t blare throughout the room, interrupting the discussion, and having you appear rude to your clients or co-workers. Apologize profusely if this does happen.

Always cover lunch or coffee: If you invite a current or prospective client out for lunch or coffee, you should never fail to pick up the tab. If your guest insists they pay their share, then graciously let them do so.

Carry business cards: While it may seem old-fashioned in this day and age, business cards still rule when marketing your services in person. Keep these in a business card holder, and distribute them only to those who request them.

Hone your conversation skills: Be mindful of what you say in public; stick to neutral topics of conversation, and always have a couple of current conversation topics to bring up if the conversation lulls.

Fulfill your CLE requirements: Whether you do it through online CLE or weekend-long lecture courses, ensure you satisfy your NY continuing legal education requirements.

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Getting Started with Online CLE

May 17th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

online CLEIf you’ve just bought online CLE courses via our website, here’s a brief, informative guide intended to aid you in navigating through the A to Z of CLE online:

Go to our homepage, available at marinolegalcle.com, and click ‘Login’ at the top of the homepage. Your “Username” is your e-mail address that you used during registration and your “Password” is the one that you created during registration.

Once successfully logged in, scroll to the ‘View My Courses’ link in your user account and click the ‘Purchased Online’ link. Clicking this link will take you to a page which lists all of your courses purchased online.

In order to take a course, click the ‘View Video’ button or ‘Listen to Audio’ button depending on how you’d like to experience the course. TOP TIP: Keep note of the codes read aloud during the lecture in order to retrieve your certificate of completion when finished the course.

As soon as you have completed a course (and made a note of all the relevant codes), click the ‘Get Certificate’ button. Clicking this button will result in your being prompted to enter the codes, as well as complete a course evaluation. From there, you will be redirected to a page where you can print your certificate.

Find more details about all of our online CLE courses and ‘bridge the gap’ weekends at MarinoLegalCLE.com.

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On Law Day

May 1st, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

new york cleWhile to some of you today is simply the first day of May, others are celebrating Law Day, an observance which encourages the people of the U.S. to reflect on the role of the law in the initial formation of the country, as well as its continued importance as a cohesive agent in society.

Sounds great, right? Well, this is actually more of a contentious issue than it may first seem. While most will agree law is an essential element in upholding the structure of a functional society, Law Day is considered by many to be a cloaked attack on leftist beliefs and values.

Law Day was initially introduced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, in an attempt to dissuade citizens from celebrating May Day, a day of remembrance to commemorate workers the world over who were killed or oppressed in their struggle for better wages or working conditions.

With that said, Law Day is often celebrated nowadays less in terms of what it opposes, as what it supports – that is, the crucial significance of the law in protecting human rights and ensuring justice is delivered.

Why not celebrate Law Day by signing up for the most convenient way of satisfying your CLE requirements? We offer a wide range of ‘bridge the gap‘ courses as well as online CLE courses.

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The Top 5 Law Schools of 2012

April 17th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

online cleContinuing on from last week’s compilation of top job-hunting tips for newly admitted attorneys, we thought it might be useful to take a broader look at the link between education and employment. This week, we bring you the top law schools to attend when it comes to landing a job.

During the past couple of years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has dramatically increased its efforts to glean information from law schools on the topic of job placement. The ABA’s findings break down the types of jobs graduates have secured, and whether they are full-time, long-term or short-term positions.

Here are the top 5 law schools when it comes to graduates securing full-time, long-term employment:

  • The University of Chicago Law School saw 94.9% of its 215 2012 graduates in bar passage jobs
  • Following close behind was the University of Virginia Law School; of its 364 graduates, 344 secured bar passage jobs
  • The University of Pennsylvania Law School nigh on tied with Virginia, with 94.4% of its 270 2012 graduates achieving full-time, long-term jobs that require bar passage
  • Rounding out the top 5 and following very close behind were Columbia Law School (at no. 4) with 93.4% of its graduates securing full-time, long-term jobs and Stanford Law School at no. 5 with a rate of 91.2%

If you’ve managed to secure a full-time, long-term position – congratulations! Ensure you keep up to date with NY continuing legal education by either gaining credits through online CLE or partaking in a convenient ‘bridge the gap‘ CLE weekend.

Source: Law.com

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Connecticut Not So Keen on CLE

April 3rd, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

online cleDespite the general consensus that continuing legal education is beneficial for the legal system and those operating within it, certain US states still refuse to get on board. Of the total fifty US states, a majority of forty-six currently require that all attorneys, newly admitted and veterans alike, partake in CLE. The state of Connecticut, however, refuses to acknowledge the potential benefit of CLE, citing several reasons for its decision not to adopt Mandatory (or Minimum) Continuing Legal Education Rules (MCLE).

Law.com reports that some of the main reasons for the Connecticut Bar Judicial Branch’s refusal to adopt MCLE were:

Financial burden: Judicial Branch members argued that the introduction of CLE would be too expensive, even though credit can be obtained for teaching or publishing articles in legal publications, thereby reducing the cost incurred by having to enroll for several courses, as well as in spite of the fact that legal professionals constitute a high earning group.

Potential swindling: Another reservation Branch members have is that a certain demographic of CLE participants will cheat, but as Law.com points out, swindlers will be swindlers and there will always be a certain percentage of the population hell bent on personal gain and perfidy.

Of course, whatever about the small minority refusing to accept the benefits of CLE, the state of New York requires all attorneys partake in New York CLE. Whether you are in search of ‘bridge the gap’ courses, or are a veteran intent on gaining your credits through online CLE, learn more about NY continuing legal education by contacting us here at Marino Legal.

 

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Interesting CLE Facts

January 30th, 2013 | Posted by cilliano in Education | Law | Lawyer | Marino Legal - (0 Comments)

online cleWe have discussed online CLE at length on this blog, examining its benefits, workings and where best to find quality CLE courses at affordable prices, but perhaps it is time to go back to basics. What exactly is CLE?

Continuing legal education, or CLE, is professional education of lawyers that takes place after the lawyer’s initial admission to the bar. As we have previously mentioned, many states in the U.S. require CLE participation of attorneys in order for them to maintain their license to practice law. In the U.S., CLE accreditation is given on a state-by-state basis. There is no nationwide accreditation since CLE programs are administered by the state supreme courts through special CLE Commissions or Boards.

Interestingly, the state of Kentucky allows all licensed attorneys in the state to fulfill their CLE requirement without paying a registration fee as part of a two-day program known as Kentucky Law Update. This unique program is offered annually in at least seven locations throughout the state.

More experienced attorneys are sometimes entitled to receive credit for speaking or teaching at an accredited CLE program; for moderating or participating in a panel presentation at an accredited CLE activity, for teaching law courses at an American Bar Association-accredited law school as well as for participating in several other courses and activities.

To learn more about the specifics of New York continuing legal education, consult the leading providers of both ‘bridge the gap‘ and veteran-appropriate CLE courses, Marino Legal.

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