Author Archives: Kenneth Tanji, Jr.

Employment Law – Attorney fees not recoverable in California rest break and meal break cases

The California Supreme Court continued the winning streak for employers with its decision in the case of Kirby v. Immoos Fire Protection that attorney fees are not recoverable for prevailing parties in meal break and rest break cases. Before the … Continue reading

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Copyright Law – Owner of Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles Learns the Hard Way about Copyright Damages and Attorneys’ Fees

In another example of what can happen if one is found liable for copyright infringement, the owner of Los Angeles civic treasure Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles was recently found liable for copyright infringement of 8 songs to the … Continue reading

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

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?

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

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?

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

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

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?

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

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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