Benjamin H Mccoy

August 09, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In June 2016, Gawker was forced to ­declare bankruptcy before it could obtain appellate review of the $140 million dollar judgment obtained by Hulk Hogan. Bankruptcy was not Gawker's first ­option; it unsuccessfully tried to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal. If confronted with similar circumstances, ­in-house ­counsel will quickly realize just how crucial this issue can be.

By Benjamin H. McCoy

12 minute read

August 02, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In March, the legal world was jolted by news that Terry Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, was awarded a $140 million judgment against Gawker Media, the owner of an entertainment gossip blog. The underlying facts were sensational. The lawsuit was grounded in Gawker's decision to post a sex tape of Hogan on its ­website. The woman in the tape was the wife of Hogan's best friend, radio ­personality "Bubba the Love Sponge." If that weren't enough, Hogan's suit was secretly funded by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire who wanted revenge against Gawker for publishing a story about Thiel years earlier.

By Benjamin H. McCoy

13 minute read

July 12, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Recent developments in the intellectual property landscape have only served to enhance the value of trade secrets. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Alice v. CLS Bank International has led to an increasingly hostile patent marketplace.

By Benjamin H. McCoy

15 minute read