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Sebaly, Shillito & DyerA Legal Professional Association

YWCA of Dayton Recognizes Linda Menz as a Woman of Influence
Linda Menz, paralegal and member of the SS+D Business Development Team, has been selected as one of seven Women of Influence for 2007 by the YWCA of Dayton. The honorees are women in the community "who have made a positive influence on the lives of others, as part of their careers, as volunteers, as role models and as mentors." A Recognition Luncheon will be held on March 15 at the Dayton Convention Center with an expected attendance of 900. Previous SS+D members honored by the YWCA have been Bev Shillito and Penny Wolff.

01-19-2007

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Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman, PC

GR&R Represents Client in Successful Challenge to Trademark Office Ruling
In an important decision for foreign trademark owners, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in First Niagara Insurance Brokers, Inc. v. First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. No. 06-1202 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 9, 2007) that a foreign trademark owner "can present its opposition [to the registration of a trademark in the United States] on the merits by showing only use of its mark in the United States," even where use in interstate or foreign commerce is alleged. The case originated when First Niagara Insurance Brokers ("First Niagara Insurance"), a Canadian insurance broker represented by GR&R that has used the FIRST NIAGARA and FIRST NIAGARA INSURANCE BROKERS marks in connection with its business since 1984, opposed six trademark applications filed by First Niagara Financial Group ("FNFG") of New York with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for marks incorporating the term First Niagara for use in connection with various financial services, including banking and insurance brokerage services. The Trademark Office initially ruled that even though First Niagara Insurance sells insurance policies to U.S. citizens with Canadian property, provides insurance to Canadians for travel in the United States and issues policies to Canadian businesses doing business in the U.S., it did not use its trademarks in commerce because its insurance activities in the United States were de minimis and incidental to rendering of its insurance services in Canada. On appeal, the Federal Circuit disagreed, explaining that First Niagara Insurance's activities constituted use of its mark in the United States, and that such use was sufficient to give First Niagara Insurance prior rights in its marks that could bar the registration of FNFG's marks.

01-19-2007

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Gordon & Rees, LLP

Ken Strong Authors Chapter in American Bar Association's Reference Textbook on Construction Project Agreements
Ken Strong is one of the authors in the American Bar Association's textbook of Forms and Substance, Specialized Agreements for the Construction Project. His chapter on environmental, geotechnical and construction management agreements provides a detailed and methodic approach in this area. The recently released key reference book is expected to sell over 800 copies. The publication, Forms and Substance, came as an outgrowth from the fall 2004 ABA Forum on Construction Conference in Tampa.

Ken Strong is a practice group leader for Gordon & Rees' construction practice and has over 25 years industry experience. Prior to Gordon & Rees, he was general counsel for an engineering and environmental consulting firm.

01-19-2007

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Gordon & Rees, LLP

IP Team Secures Dramatic Result In Retrial of Landmark Architectural Copyright Case
Richard P. Sybert and Craig J. Mariam of Gordon & Rees' IP team secured a significant victory for defendants in the two-week retrial of a landmark 2005 architectural copyright case, William Hablinski Architecture v Amir Construction, et al. The case involved alleged infringement of building plans and design for the 20,000-square foot Bel Air mansion of Westside Los Angeles real estate mogul, Fred Sands. Plaintiff, William Hablinski Architecture, accused the defendants of building a "copycat" house in nearby Beverly Hills.

Gordon & Rees substituted into the case as new counsel only two months prior to the retrial. This same trial team had won a landmark trademark case before another judge of the same court earlier in 2006 in reclaiming the rights to the mark MALIBU PIER for the State of California.

Defendant's stunning reversal of fortune took place in a Los Angeles federal courtroom just three days before Christmas. The jury returned a verdict which reduced by almost 90 percent the prior $5.9 million judgment entered against defendants.

The reduced award represented less than 5% of the fair market value of defendants' property as found by the jury. It is particularly significant because defendants were prevented from challenging the validity of the plaintiff's copyright or the prior finding of infringement.

"Intellectual property cases rarely make it to trial," noted lead trial attorney, Sybert. "To have two in the space of five months is extraordinary. To be successful in both is a measure of the expertise, dedication and effort our law firm brings to the courtroom."

The case made national headlines in 2005 when the jury in the first trial found plaintiff's copyrights to be valid, returning the $5.9 million verdict against all defendants. The court later reversed all but $380,061 of that award due to a disputed verdict form, but limited the re-trial to damages under Section 504(b) of the Copyright Act only. The court held that liability, copyright validity, and infringement were already established, and could not be re-argued.

Thus, defendants were prevented from presenting a full case. In particular, they were denied the ability to present evidence that plaintiff's design was derivative of historic Italianate architecture. Instead, the issues before the jury on retrial were limited to fair market value of the defendants' home, allowable deductions from fair market value, and apportionment of value attributed to plaintiff's copyrights.

"This was not an easy case because of the sharp restrictions on retrial," according to Sybert. "We were ready to show that these kinds of building designs have been around for centuries and are in the public domain, but could not do so."

Defendants argued that only a small portion of the fair market value of their house was actually attributable to the plaintiff's copyrights or to building design. Mariam explained, "Plaintiff argued to the jury that the value attributed to the copyrights was again in excess of $5 million, and that defendants' house was a complete derivative work of the Sands house. Plaintiff wanted every cent of defendants' profits, despite the years of hard work and expertise that were dedicated full-time to this project and that had nothing to do with the copyright."

Plaintiff has promised an appeal. The case has been widely reported in the news media as a landmark decision under the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990.

01-19-2007

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Goldberg Katzman, P.C.

Sembrote Speaks at Criminal Law Seminar
Goldberg Katzman associate, Joe Sembrot, recently spoke at the "Criminal Law Update" seminar offered by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute Seminar. Joe's specific topic was "Criminal Appellate Practice Update." Joe's practice at Goldberg, Katzman includes practice before Pennsylvania's appellate courts (both federal and state courts) where decisions of Pennsylvania's Courts of Common Pleas and federal District Court's are reviewed.

01-19-2007

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Gibson & Behman, P.C.

GIBSON & BEHMAN HAS ATTORNEY ADMITTED IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AND OPENS OFFICE
Attorney Brian T. Dougan was sworn into the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands and the District Court of the Virgin Islands. Attorney Dougan will be heading up Gibson & Behman’s litigation team in the Virgin Islands.

Attorney Dougan has been associated with Gibson & Behman, P.C. for four years as Director of its Providence, Rhode Island Office. The majority of Attorney Dougan’s work is in the area of civil litigation and he has impressive trial wins for insurers in the area of premises liability, products liability and motor vehicle accidents.

Gibson & Behman. P.C. has opened its first Law Office in the Virgin Islands at the Marketplace Building, 18-38 Estate Enighed, St. John, Virgin Islands. Opening up an office on the island of St. John will allow Gibson & Behman to expand its Virgin Island practice and better serve its current island clients.

01-19-2007

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Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP

FKSA Advises Blue Ridge on Pre-IPO Investment in Indian Healthcare Company
FKSA advised Blue Ridge Limited Partnership and Blue Ridge Offshore Master Limited Partnership in connection with their signing a definitive agreement to purchase up to 5.96 million equity shares in Fortis Healthcare Limited.

Blue Ridge is a prominent hedge fund that makes investments in the U.S. and abroad. Fortis Healthcare Limited, one of the largest private healthcare companies in India, has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in connection with its proposed initial public offering.

FKSA partners Gary D. Friedman and Matthew S. Haiken and counsel Sneha Devadason advised Blue Ridge in connection with this investment.

01-19-2007

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