Author Archives: Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Employment Law – Rules for meal breaks and rest breaks explained by California Supreme Court in Brinker case

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Here is the long-awaited, mostly pro-employer, decision on meal breaks and rest breaks by the California Supreme Court in the Brinker case.  The decision confirmed employers need only provide the opportunity for employees to take meal breaks, and employers do … Continue reading →

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Employment Law – How did Ani Chopourian get a $168 million dollar verdict?

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Sacramento physician assistant Ani Chopourian made recent headlines with her $168 million verdict against Mercy General Hospital for unlawful retaliation, harassment, and rest/meal break violations.  This may be the biggest verdict ever for a victim of workplace harassment. The $168 … Continue reading →

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Patent Law – The Patent Troll Update: News and Strategy

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Patent lawyers have known about patent trolls for a while, but it’s only been lately that the mainstream media and public at large have paid real attention to the existence of and effect of patent trolls.  Therefore, as an ongoing … Continue reading →

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Trademark Law – Can Jeremy Lin trademark Linsanity?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

You knew there had to be a business angle to the feel-good sports story that is Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks, so over the past week we have seen dueling trademark applications for the catch-phrase, Linsanity, by two … Continue reading →

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Copyright Law – The One Satisfaction Rule’s Use in Copyright Cases May Get a Test

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Karaoke hardware and software distributor, KTS Karaoke, is in a legal rumble with Sony/ATV Music Publishing about whether KTS’ distribution of karaoke recordings constitutes copyright infringement and the extent of such infringement, as described in this Hollywood Reporter article (click here … Continue reading →

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Patent Law, Trademark Law – Updates on Christian Louboutin, inequitable conduct, and Chris Bosh

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

With 2011 coming to an end, this is a good time to check in on updates on some of our favorite blogposts of the past: Christian Louboutin’s quest to trademark the color of his shoe soles, pleading inequitable conduct in … Continue reading →

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Real Estate Law – What was that rule against perpetuities in the film The Descendants?

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

If you were paying close attention while watching the excellent new film, The Descendants, with George Clooney, you may have wondered what the rule against perpetuities was and why it was important to a certain piece of real property in the … Continue reading →

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Insurance Law – Accident victims can’t recover more than the amount of their medical bills paid by their health insurer

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Insurance companies scored a big victory with the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in the case of Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions (click here for the Google Scholar version of the decision).  In personal injury/accident cases the accident victims … Continue reading →

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ADA Lawsuits – Updates in the defense of disabled access cases – fall 2011

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

ADA cases continue to be a problem for California businesses, as shown by a number of recent articles cited below. Until the government takes away more of the profit incentive for these types of cases, more and more ADA lawsuits … Continue reading →

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Employment Law – Law clerk exempt from overtime pay because he was classified as a professional employee

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Matthew Zelasko-Barrett sued a Northern California law firm, Brayton-Purcell LLP, for not paying him overtime for his work for them as a law clerk after he graduated from law school and before he passed the bar exam.  The California Court … Continue reading →

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