Business and Corporate

Subscribe to Business and Corporate via RSS

Today, the ICM Registry launched the new sponsored top-level domain – .XXX. The .XXX domain is being launched specifically for the adult entertainment industry; however, the .XXX launch is also important for individuals, businesses, and organizations owning trademark rights. Trademark owners will have a short, fifty-two (52) day period (“Sunrise B period”) to protect their…

Last week, the United States Department of the Treasury announced the approval of applications from Louisiana and a handful of other states for State Small Business Credit Initiative (“SSBCI”) funding. The SSBCI is an important component of the Small Business Jobs Act (“the Act”) that was signed into law last fall. This funding is intended…

In Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. v. Maersk Contractors USA, Inc, 617 F.3d 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2010), the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s summary judgment decision that no patent infringement occurred when a US company made an offer to sell to another US company when the sale negotiations occurred outside of the US.

Transocean filed suit for infringement of patents related to an improved apparatus for conducting offshore drilling. In order to drill for oil and other offshore resources, drilling rigs must lower several components to the seabed including the drill bit, casings, BOB’s, and the drill string. A conventional offshore drilling rig utilizes a derrick with a single top drive and drawworks that can only lower one element at a time in a time consuming process. Transocean patented a specialized derrick to improve the efficiency of lowering the above components. The specialized derrick included “two stations – a main advancing station and an auxiliary advancing station that can each assemble drill strings and lower components to the seabed.” Id. at 1301. This duel-activity rig could significantly decrease the time required to complete a borehole. Id at 1302. Transocean sued Maersk rig for infringement of the specialized derrick patent.Continue Reading Parties Cannot Avoid Patent Infringement by Conducting Negotiations Outside the United States for Products that will be Delivered and Utilized in the United States

In today’s political and economic environment, in which public resources available for infrastructure development and maintenance are increasingly scarce, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) offer a welcome alternative to traditional financing and operation models. A PPP is a contractual agreement between a public agency (federal, state or local) entity and a private sector entity to deliver a service or facility for public use. The Louisiana Supreme Court has recognized the public benefits of PPPs, finding that “public-private partnerships that take advantage of the special expertise of the private sector are among the most effective programs to encourage and maintain economic development, and that it is in the best interest of the State and its local governments to encourage, create, and support public-private partnerships.” See Board of Directors of Indus. Devel. Bd. of City of Gonzales, Louisiana, Inc. v. All Taxpayers, Property Owners, Citizens of City of Gonzales, 938 So.2d 11, 17 (La. 2006).
Continue Reading A Primer on Public-Private Partnerships

Louisiana legislators passed two new laws during the most recent Legislative Session placing additional requirements on employers to check the citizenship status of employees.

Act 376 provides for the verification of employees engaged only in public contract work by enacting La. R.S. 38:2212.10.  The new law provides that a private employer shall not bid on…

Recently, Louisiana businesses have received solicitation by mail from a private company regarding services related to the maintenance of corporate meeting minutes.  An “Annual Meeting Disclosure Statement,” provided as part of the solicitation, cites certain provisions of La. R.S. 12:223 which requires every corporation to keep certain records, including records of the meetings of its…

In the United States, patent owners or licensees are required to inform alleged infringers of their possibly infringing behavior prior to being able to recover damages for the infringement of a valid U.S. patent. (1)  Marking a product with the applicable patent number provides the requisite notice. (2)  However, failure to monitor products marked with…

A recent opinion from the United States Bankruptcy Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana shows that even experienced lenders and developers may not always understand how Louisiana’s Private Works Act applies to their project, and how much leverage a properly filed notice of contract can provide to a general contractor.  Tuscany Reserve, LLC (“LLC”) was formed by sophisticated developers for the purpose of developing a new apartment complex in Baton Rouge. LLC obtained acquisition and construction financing from a bank (1st Bank), which properly recorded its mortgage on the project before work commenced. LLC hired “Contractor” to build the complex; Contractor recorded its notice of contract in the parish mortgage records.  As often happens, a dispute developed between LLC and Contractor regarding the work performed and lack of payment.  Contractor stopped work and filed a lien on the property under the Louisiana Private Works Act for $1.17 million.  Contractor eventually agreed to cancel its lien in exchange for a promissory note and guarantees from LLC’s principals and collateral provided by an LLC affiliate.  Once the lien was cancelled, 1st Bank funded two draw requests on the construction loan.  LLC needed more money for the project and turned to a new lender (2nd Bank) for additional financing.   2nd Bank secured its loan with a collateral mortgage on the immovable property for the project; there were no liens in the property records when 2nd Bank recorded its mortgage.  The relationship between LLC and Contractor soon soured, again, and Contractor filed two liens on the project, one for the original claim amount, plus interest, and another for $250,000.00.  Contractor sued LLC and its principals on the matured promissory note, and also sued LLC based on its rights under the recorded construction contract and the Louisiana Private Works Act. LLC eventually filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Middle District of Louisiana.
Continue Reading Lenders and Developers Need to Understand How Louisiana’s Private Works Act Applies to Their Projects

A recent federal district court case (Watson v. U.S., 107AFTR 2d 2011-311) has held that the IRS could recharacterize purported dividend payments to an S corporation shareholder-employee as wages. In this case, a CPA was a sole shareholder, employee, director and officer of a professional corporation that was taxed as an S Corporation. The corporation…