Posts by Lattimore Law
Before You Launch that Internet Business – Avoiding the Pitfalls of Regulatory Violations and Intellectual Property Infringement in E-Commerce
Many entrepreneurs are seeking opportunities in the online marketplace. The convenience of drop shipping directly to customers or using warehousing and fulfillment services – the most popular being Amazon fulfillment – has made it historically easy to open an e-commerce business and thrive. Many entrepreneurs, however, miss the critical step of vetting the products they…
Read MoreAmazon Purgatory –When Amazon Suspends Your Listings
It’s a story I hear over and over again: “Amazon just suspended my product listings and I can’t get them reinstated.” This dilemma is particularly challenging when the suspension is the result of someone claiming your product infringes their intellectual property rights – that is to say their copyright, trademark or patent. The key to…
Read MoreNJ Restrictive Covenants / Covenants Not To Compete
REASONABLENESS OF A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT REMAINS A HIGHLY FACT BASED INQUIRY The Solari/Whitmyer test has long been the standard by which New Jersey courts determine the enforceability of restrictive covenants (e.g.,covenants not to compete, non-solicitation clauses). Under that test, a plaintiff seeking to enforce a restrictive covenant must establish that the covenant is reasonable. Reasonableness is proven…
Read MoreTrademark Law — Effect of Covenant Not To Sue
SUPREME COURT RULES THAT COVENANT NOT TO SUE FOR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT DIVESTED DEFENDANT OF STANDING TO ASSERT COUNTERCLAIM TO INVALIDATE MARK On January 9, 2013, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, held that a covenant not to enforce a trademark against a competitor’s existing products and any future “colorable imitations” of those products mooted…
Read MorePreemption Under The NJ Trade Secrets Act
CHANCERY DIVISION HOLDS THAT THE NEW JERSEY TRADE SECRETS ACT DOES NOT PREEMPT RELATED COMMON LAW CAUSES OF ACTION In an apparent case of first impression, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Bergen County, held that the New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (“NJTSA”), which became effective on January 5, 2012, does not preempt…
Read More17 U.S.C. § 411(a) — Pre-Suit Copyright Registration
NEW JERSEY DISTRICT JUDGE RULES THAT APPLYING FOR COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION DOES NOT SATISFY THE “REGISTRATION” PREREQUISITE FOR FILING AN INFRINGEMENT CLAIM On January 4, 2013, District of New Jersey Judge William Martini dismissed, without prejudice, a plaintiff’s copyright infringement claims on the ground that the plaintiff’s pending application for copyright registration was insufficient to satisfy…
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