The other day I sat down to watch the classic 1947 movie, Miracle on 34th Street starring Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn. For those who haven’t seen this movie, it is an exceptional well acted film. It is just a warm, good hearted movie that leaves you feeling happy after watching […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
Can a Judge Make a Plaintiff Pay for Defendant’s Legal Fees?
In England, there is a law referred to as the “Loser Pays” Rule. The law states that the losing party of a civil litigation case must pay the winning party’s legal fees. The English created this law to deter individuals and corporations from making frivolous claims and wasting the judicial system’s time and also the […]
Can Someone Trademark Your Catchphrase After It Is Cancelled?
Do you remember the ridiculously cheesy LifeCall commercial that first aired in 1989? Perhaps you may be able to recall it better with this famous catchphrase, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Do you now remember? LifeCall, a medical alert and protection company produced this commercial showing an elderly woman fall within her […]
Inequitable Conduct
How do I defend allegations of patent infringement? An attorney may choose to argue that the infringed patent is invalid. However, an alternative strategy may entail a claim of inequitable conduct. A successful claim of inequitable conduct renders a patent unenforceable because the court will exercise its power of equitable discretion not to enforce the […]
We Both Have the Same Business Name. Am I in Trouble?
You started your company four years ago and everything is going well when all of a sudden you are handed a cease and desist letter. The letter informs you that you are using another company’s trademark – their company name. What are you to do? With the world increasingly getting smaller thanks to the internet, […]
Thanksgiving Day Patents
By: Mark R. Malek I am sure everyone has starved themselves to the point of near collapse in anticipation of the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. For the sake of showing that the Patent world is very in touch with the holiday season, we would like to share with you some Thanksgiving related patents that we came […]
No Legal Remedies for Generic Drugs
Does your pharmacist prescribe you generic drugs or brand name? Does your health plan cover you for brand name drugs or does your plan only cover you for generic drugs? Taking generic drugs instead of brand name drugs used to be no big deal. In fact, many consumers preferred generic to brand name because generic […]
Textbook Publishers Sue Boundless Learning for Plagiarism
One of the biggest gripes I had with attending college had to be buying textbooks. Ten years ago when I was in college, textbooks cost around $500 per semester. This was an outrageous cost. Yet, college kids were forced to pay for these books in order to follow along with the teacher’s syllabus. You would […]
What to Do When Contract is Breached
For those who’ve watched the popular Home and Garden television show, Holmes Inspection, we have all seen homeowners distraught after contractors failed to deliver quality workmanship. On this television show, homeowners seek the help of Mike Holmes and his crew to fix the poor handy work of other contractors who left the homeowners’ home in terrible condition. […]
What is Involved in Preparing for a Civil Litigation Case
What is civil litigation? What are the different types of civil litigation cases? How does the civil litigation process work? These are typically questions that attorneys are asked on a regular basis. Unless you went to law school, most Americans are not familiar with civil litigation. Americans would not need to concern themselves with the […]
